Camera with mechanism for operating a light block lid of a film cartridge

ABSTRACT

A camera with a cartridge chamber for accepting a film cartridge with film and a cover for covering the cartridge chamber. The camera has a locking mechanism that locks the cover when the cover is in a closed state and a releasing device for releasing the cover from a closed state. The locking mechanism includes a pivotable member having on one end a locking portion engageable with the cover to lock the cover in the closed state and on the other end a contact portion. A biasing member urges the pivotal member in a locking direction so that the locking portion engages the cover. The releasing member includes a motor is used to open the cover. The motor drives a crank member that is connected to an unlocking member via a link member, which is operable to rotate the pivotal member in a direction opposite to the cover closing direction to open the cover.

This is a divisional application of Ser. No. 08/789,559, filed Jan. 27,1997.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a camera mountable with a film cartridge, inparticular to a camera mountable with an APS or advanced photosystemfilm cartridge.

A technique for effecting a film feed such as winding and rewinding by atorque of an electric motor built in a camera main body is known, andthe film is fed by driving a motor in most of cameras presentlyavailable on the market.

The film is wound by rotating a take-up spool provided in a film take-upchamber, whereas it is rewound by rotating a fork provided in acartridge chamber and fitted into a spool of a cartridge. Differentmembers are driven to wind and rewind the film, and contents of controlsfor winding and rewinding of the film differ (the film is wound frame byframe, whereas the entire length of the pulled out film is rewound intothe cartridge). Accordingly, a conventional drive mechanism for windingand rewinding the film by driving of the motor is such that a torqueacting in one rotating direction of the single electric motor istransmitted to the fork in the cartridge chamber and a torque acting inthe opposite rotating direction thereof is transmitted to the take-upspool in the film take-up chamber by means of a planetary transmissionswitching mechanism.

In recent years, film cartridges in accordance with the APS(hereinafter, APS film cartridge) have been standardized andcommercialization of cameras which use such films have been promoted.

The APS film cartridge is provided with a light blocking lid at a filmoutlet of a cartridge and a film is completely contained in thecartridge as disclosed in, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,334. Accordingly,the cartridge functions not only as a container for an unexposed film,but also as a container for a developed film.

Further, a bar code plate which enables the detection of the type of acontained film (unexposed film, exposed film, incompletely exposed film,etc.) is integrally rotatably provided at one end of the spool. Type ofthe film is detectable by reading a bar code on the bar code plate.Accordingly, a proper photo-processing can be applied in accordance withthe type of the contained film independently of which type of a filmcartridge is loaded in the camera.

Furthermore, the APS film cartridge is smaller than the conventional 35mm film cartridge (the radial and longitudinal dimensions of thecontainer or cartridge are reduced by about 4 mm, and an image recordingarea of the film is reduced by about 40%), contributing to downsizingthe camera main body.

Since the film is completely contained in the cartridge in the APS filmcartridge as described above, the APS film cartridge needs to be loadedby automatically pulling the film out of the cartridge after opening thelight blocking lid when it is loaded in the camera. On the other hand,when the APS film cartridge is taken out of the camera, the lightblocking lid needs to be closed after the pulled out film is completelyrewound into the cartridge. For example, as compared with a 135 typeroll film, a more complicated film feeding control is necessary for theAPS film cartridge. Therefore, in the camera which uses the APS filmcartridge, the motor-driving is essential for the film feed control anddriving is necessary not only to wind and rewind the film, but also toload the film and open/close the light blocking lid which are notnecessary with the conventional films.

Also, in the case where there is provided a lockable cover for closingthe cartridge chamber for accommodating the film cartridge, it isdesirable to automatically release a cover lock and open the cartridgecover.

In the camera using the conventional 135 type roll film, since therewinding fork and the take-up spool are not controllably driven inconnection with each other, winding/rewinding can be done by switchingthe rotating direction of the single electric motor. Accordingly, it ispossible to facilitate the drive control. In the camera using the APSfilm cartridge, the rewinding fork and the take-up spool needs to besimultaneously controllably driven for loading of the film afterdefining a specified relationship between them and a new drive mechanismis necessary to open and close the light blocking lid. However, ifspecial motors are separately provided to drive the respective memberssuch as the rewinding fork, the take-up spool, and the light blockinglid, there are required more elements for the construction of the cameraand a complicated drive control for the respective motors. This isagainst a downsizing tendency of the APS film cartridge and is notnecessarily effective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera mountablewith an APS film cartridge which has overcome the problems residing inthe prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cameramountable with an APS film cartridge which can perform feeding to a filmof an APS film cartridge in a reduced size.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cameramountable with an APS film cartridge which can automatically open andclose a light blocking lid of an APS film cartridge and release acartridge cover.

It is yet still object of the present invention to provide an operatingmethod which can ensure easier handling of a camera mountable with anAPS film cartridge.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a camera comprising: acartridge chamber which accommodates a film cartridge containing a film,the film cartridge being provided with a spool; a fork provided in thecartridge chamber and engageable with the spool provided in the filmcartridge; a film take-up chamber provided with a take-up spool fortaking up the film; a driver which generates a driving force; atransmission mechanism which transmits the driving force from the driverto the take-up spool and the fork, the transmission mechanism having afirst transmission route of transmitting the driving force to thetake-up spool to wind the film and a second transmission route oftransmitting the driving force to the fork to rewind the film; and achanger which changes over the first and second transmission routes, thechanger being positioned near the fork. The transmission mechanism maybe provided with a driver gear wheel attached on the driver; a fork gearwheel attached on the fork; a transmission gear wheel partiallyoverlapping the fork gearwheel; a first gear device including a firstsun gear wheel meshed with the driver gear wheel and the transmissiongear wheel, and a first planetary gear wheel meshed with the first sungear wheel and meshable with the fork gear wheel; a second gear deviceincluding a second sun gear wheel operatively connected with the take-upspool, and a second planetary gear wheel meshed with the second sun gearwheel and meshable with the transmission gear wheel. The changer may beprovided with a cam rotatable about an axis of the transmission gearwheel, the cam being formed with specified guide surfaces on acircumference thereof; a first contact member attached on the firstplanetary gear wheel and operable to come into contact with a specifiedguide surface of the cam to regulate a relative position of the firstplanetary gear wheel to the fork gear wheel; and a second contact memberattached on the second planetary gear wheel and operable to come intocontact with a specified guide surface of the cam to regulate a relativeposition of the second planetary gear wheel to the transmission gearwheel.

The cam may be connected with the transmission gear wheel by way of anone-way clutch, whereby the cam is driven by the driver.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a cameracomprising: a cartridge chamber which accommodates a film cartridgecontaining a film, the film cartridge being provided with a spool; afork provided in the cartridge chamber and engageable with the spoolprovided in the film cartridge; a film take-up chamber provided with atake-up spool for taking up the film; a driver which generates a drivingforce; a transmission mechanism which transmits the driving force fromthe driver to the take-up spool and the fork, the transmission mechanismhaving a first transmission route of transmitting the driving force tothe take-up spool to wind the film, a second transmission route oftransmitting the driving force to the fork to rewind the film, and athird transmission route of transmitting the driving force to thetake-up spool and the fork to load the film; and a changer which changesover the first, second, and third transmission routes. The transmissionmechanism may be provided with a driver gear wheel attached on thedriver; a fork gear wheel attached on the fork; a transmission gearwheel; a first gear device including a first sun gear wheel meshed withthe driver gear wheel and the transmission gear wheel, and a firstplanetary gear wheel meshed with the first sun gear wheel and meshablewith the fork gear wheel; a second gear device including a second sungear wheel operatively connected with the take-up spool, and a secondplanetary gear wheel meshed with the second sun gear wheel and meshablewith the transmission gear wheel; a third gear device including a thirdplanetary gear wheel meshed with the second sun gear wheel and meshablewith the fork gear wheel. The changer may be provided with a camrotatable about an axis of the transmission gear wheel, the cam beingformed with specified guide surfaces on a circumference thereof; a firstcontact member attached on the first planetary gear wheel and operableto come into contact with a specified guide surface of the cam toregulate a relative position of the first planetary gear wheel to thefork gear wheel; a second contact member attached on the secondplanetary gear wheel and operable to come into contact with a specifiedguide surface of the cam to regulate a relative position of the secondplanetary gear wheel to the transmission gear wheel; and a third contactmember attached on the third planetary gear wheel and operable to comeinto contact with a specified guide surface of the cam to regulate arelative position of the third planetary gear wheel to the fork gearwheel.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a cameramountable with a film cartridge containing a film and having a lightblocking lid rotatable about a vertical axis to open and close the filmcartridge, comprising: a cartridge chamber which accommodates the filmcartridge; an engaging member which is rotatably provided in thecartridge chamber and engageable with the light blocking lid when thefilm cartridge is placed in the cartridge chamber; and an actuator whichactuates the engaging member to open and close the light blocking lid.The actuator may be provided with a motor which generates a drivingforce; a crank member driven by the motor; and a link member whichoperatively connects the crank member with the engaging member.

Further, it may be preferable to provide a transmission mechanism whichtransmits a driving force of the motor to the crank member, a take-upspool for winding the film, and a fork for rewinding the film to producea first transmission route of transmitting the driving force to thecrank member to actuate the engaging member, a second transmission routeof transmitting the driving force to the take-up spool to wind the film,and a third transmission route of transmitting the driving force to thefork to rewind the film, and a changer which changes over the first,second, and third transmission routes. Furthermore, it may be preferableto provide the transmission mechanism with a fourth transmission routeof transmitting the driving force to the take-up spool and the fork toload the film.

According to yet still aspect of the present invention, a cameracomprising: a cartridge chamber which accommodates a film cartridgecontaining a film; a cover which openably closes the cartridge chamber;a locking mechanism which locks the cover in a closing state of closingthe cartridge; and a releasing device which releases the locking of thecover in the closing state.

The locking mechanism may be constructed by: a pivotal member pivotableabout a specified axis, and having on one end a locking portionengageable with the cover to lock the cover in the closing state and onthe other end a contact portion; a biasing member which urges thepivotal member in a locking direction that the locking portion engageswith the cover. The releasing device may be constructed by: a motorwhich generates a driving force; a crank member driven by the motor; anunlocking member which is operable to come into contact with the contactportion of the pivotal member to rotate the pivotal member in adirection opposite to the locking direction; a link member whichoperatively connects the crank member with the unlocking member.

It may be preferable to provide a transmission mechanism which transmitsa driving force from the motor to the crank member, the take-up spool,and the fork, the transmission mechanism having a first transmissionroute of transmitting the driving force to the crank member to actuatethe unlocking member, a second transmission route of transmitting thedriving force to the take-up spool to wind the film, and a thirdtransmission route of transmitting the driving force to the fork torewind the film, and a changer which changes over the first, second, andthird transmission routes.

According to further aspect of the present invention, a camera mountablewith a film cartridge containing a film and having a light blocking lidrotatable about a vertical axis to open and close the film cartridge,comprising: a cartridge chamber which accommodates the film cartridge;an engaging member which is rotatably provided in the cartridge chamberand engageable with the light blocking lid when the film cartridge isplaced in the cartridge chamber; a cover which openably closes thecartridge chamber; a pivotal member pivotable about a specified axis,and having on one end a locking portion engageable with the cover tolock the cover in the closing state and on the other end a contactportion; a biasing member which urges the pivotal member in a lockingdirection that the locking portion engages with the cover; a motor whichgenerates a driving force; a crank member driven by the motor; anunlocking member which is operable to come into contact with the contactportion of the pivotal member to rotate the pivotal member in adirection opposite to the locking direction; and a link member whichoperatively connects the crank member with the engaging member and theunlocking member.

According to still further aspect of the present invention, a method foropening and closing a light blocking lid provided on a film cartridgecontaining a film, the method comprising the steps of: permitting anengaging member rotatably provided in a cartridge chamber foraccommodating the film cartridge to engage with the light blocking lidwhen the film cartridge is placed in the cartridge chamber; driving amotor to generate a driving force when the light blocking lid isrequired to be opened and closed; and transmitting the driving force tothe engaging member by a way of a crank member and a link memberoperatively connecting the crank member with the engaging member toactuate the light blocking lid.

According to yet still further aspect of the present invention, a methodfor locking and unlocking a cover of a cartridge chamber foraccommodating a film cartridge, the method comprising the steps of:permitting a pivotal member to engage with the cover to lock the coverin a closing position when a film cartridge is placed in the cartridgechamber; keeping the pivotal member to engage with the cover by abiasing member; driving a motor to generate a driving force when thelocking of the cover is required to be released; and transmitting thedriving force to a unlocking member operable to come into contact withthe pivotal member by a way of a crank member and a link memberoperatively connecting the crank member with the unlocking member.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent upon a reading of the followingdetailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an APS film cartridge when viewed fromabove;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the APS film cartridge when viewed frombelow;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an APS film;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a positional relationship of a cartridgechamber, an exposure frame and a film take-up chamber provided in acamera main body;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an external configuration of a cartridgeself-loading type camera according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing an external configuration of thecartridge self-loading type camera;

FIG. 7 is a vertical section schematically showing an essential portionof an internal construction of the cartridge self-loading type camera;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal section schematically showing an essentialportion of the internal construction of the cartridge self-loading typecamera;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a basic configuration of a housingfor constructing the cartridge chamber, a taking lens and the filmtake-up chamber;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a basic configuration of a drivesystem of a film feeding system of the camera;

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the camera showing a first method fordisengaging gear wheels of a second torque transmission mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the camera showing a second method fordisengaging gear wheels of the second torque transmission mechanism;

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an essential portion of a construction ofa first torque transmission mechanism which enables the external drivingof a fork gear wheel;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an essential portion of theconstruction of the first torque transmission mechanism viewed from thefront of the camera;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an essential portion of theconstruction of the first torque transmission mechanism viewed from theback of the camera;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of an essential portion of the construction ofthe first torque transmission mechanism;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a relationship between rotational positionranges of a cam and a film rewinding area, a film winding area, aloading area, a lid opening/closing area;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing contact positions of the respective contactpieces with cam surfaces when the cam is set in the film winding area;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the contact positions of the respectivecontact pieces with the cam surfaces when the cam is set in the lidopening/closing area;

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the contact positions of the respectivecontact pieces with the cam surfaces when the cam is set in the filmrewinding area;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the contact positions of the respectivecontact pieces with the cam surfaces when the cam is set in the loadingarea;

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a transmission direction of a torque of adrive motor in the first torque transmission mechanism in a film windingmode;

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the transmission direction of the torque ofthe drive motor in the first torque transmission mechanism in a filmloading mode

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the transmission direction of the torque ofthe drive motor in the first torque transmission mechanism in a filmrewinding mode;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the transmission direction of the torque ofthe drive motor in the first torque transmission mechanism in a filmopening/closing mode;

FIGS. 26A to 26F are diagrams showing the movement of a crank lever, alid opening key and an unlock lever in the lid opening/closing mode,wherein FIG. 26A shows a state where the lid opening key is in its openposition (standby position), FIG. 26B shows a state where the positionswitch of the lid opening key is started by the crank lever, FIG. 26Cshows an intermediate state between the open position and close positionof the lid opening key, FIG. 26D shows a state immediately before thecrank lever comes into contact with the unlock lever, FIG. 26E shows astate after the completion of an unlocking operation by the crank lever,and FIG. 26F shows a state where the lid opening key is in its closeposition (standby position);

FIG. 27 is a block diagram of a control system for the film feed;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a sequence of a routine "Loading";

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a state where the leading end of the filmis located in a detection position of a photointerrupter PI2;

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a state where a perforation indicative of afront end position of a leading frame is located in a detection positionof a photointerrupter PI1;

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a state where the perforation indicative ofthe front end position of the leading frame is located in the detectionposition of the photointerrupter PI2;

FIG. 32 is a perspective view of an ejecting mechanism for the cartridgeand a locking mechanism for a cartridge cover;

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a linking construction of the cartridgecover and an eject hook lever;

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the cartridge loaded into the cartridgechamber by action of gravity;

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing the cartridge being forced into thecartridge chamber;

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing the cartridge completely pressed into thecartridge chamber;

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing the cartridge cover of the cartridgechamber being closed;

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing the cartridge cover of the cartridgechamber immediately before being locked;

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing the cartridge cover of the cartridgechamber after being locked;

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing the cartridge cover of the cartridgechamber after being unlocked;

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing the cartridge immediately before beingejected;

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing the cartridge after being ejected;

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of an essential portion of a secondembodiment of the locking mechanism; and

FIGS. 44A to 44C are diagrams showing an locking operation of the secondembodiment, wherein FIG. 44A shows a locked state, FIG. 44B shows astate upon the completion of an unlocking operation, and FIG. 44C showsa state where the locking mechanism is held unlocked.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

A cartridge self-loading type camera according to the invention isdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, an APS film cartridge used for this camera is briefly described.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing the APS film cartridge whenviewed from above and from below, respectively.

The APS film cartridge includes a cartridge KT provided with a lightblocking lid 502 at a film outlet 501, so that a film F can becompletely contained in the cartridge KT. Accordingly, the camera usingthe APS film cartridge is provided with a so-called self-loadingmechanism for, when the ASP film cartridge is set, pulling the film Fout of the cartridge KT and winding it around a take-up spool, andfeeding the film F to bring the first frame to an image recordingposition so as to enable a photographing operation.

The cartridge KT has a cylindrical shape, and a film outlet portion 503projects at a side surface thereof in parallel with its axis. The filmoutlet 501 is provided at the leading end face of the film outletportion 503.

The light blocking lid 502 is rotatable or pivotal, and is openable andclosable by inserting a lid opening key of a specified shape into a keyhole 504 which opens in an upper surface 510 and a lower surface 512 ofthe cartridge KT and is formed at an leading end portion of the filmoutlet portion 503 and by rotating the inserted key. As described later,a cartridge chamber of the camera is provided with the lid opening keyused to open and close the light blocking lid 502. When the cartridge KTis contained in the cartridge chamber, the lid opening key is fittedinto the key hole 504, and the light blocking lid 502 is unlocked by aspecified slanting surface of the lid opening key 502 and opened byrotating it.

Spools 505, 506 used to wind and rewind the film F are rotatablyprovided at the axial centers of the upper and lower surfaces 510, 512of the cartridge KT. To the spool 505 at the upper surface 510 isrotatably fixed a code plate 507 on which pieces of informationconcerning the film F contained in the cartridge KT (number ofexposures, ISO sensitivity, color/black-and-white, negative/positive,etc., hereafter, referred to as a film information) are recorded. To thespool 506 at the lower surface 512 is rotatably fixed a white indicator509 provided with four marks 508 perforated around the spool 506 whichare indicative of an information concerning the type of the film F(unexposed film, exposed film, partially exposed film, developed film,etc.). The spools 505, 506 are provided at the opposite ends of a spoolshaft provided at the axial center of a cartridge chamber of thecartridge KT so as to be integrally rotatable.

Notches 511 are formed in specified peripheral positions of the uppersurface 510 of the cartridge KT, and a bar code on the code plate 507 isreadable through the notches 511. In a position of the cartridge chamberof the camera facing the notch 511, there is provided a photoreflector(not shown). When the cartridge KT is contained in the cartridgechamber, the bar code on the code plate 507 is read by thephotoreflector so as to discriminate the type of the film F containedthe cartridge KT.

On the other hand, the marks 508 perforated in the lower surface 512 ofthe cartridge KT enables a camera operator to visually confirm the typeof the film F contained in the cartridge KT. When any one of the marks508 is located at the indicator, it turns to white to indicate the typeof the film F. It should be noted that "∘" indicates an unexposed film,"x" an exposed film, "□" a developed film, and "D" a partially exposedfilm. The code plate 507 and the indicator 509 rotate together with thespool 505. Since a relative position of the indicator 509 and areference edge of the bar code on the code plate 507 is specified withrespect to a key groove 505' formed in the spool 505, the type of thefilm F can be discriminated by rotating the spool 505 and reading theposition of the bar code when the film F is loaded.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the ASP film cartridge.

The film F contained in the cartridge KT has three areas: a leaderportion 513, an exposure portion 514 and an end portion 515 in thisorder from its leading end. The leader portion 513 is used to pull thefilm F out of the cartridge KT. The exposure portion 514 is an areawhere a specified number of photographed images are recorded atspecified intervals. The end portion 515 is an unexposed area providedat a rear end of the film F to pull the exposure portion 514 by adistance longer than a specified distance from the cartridge KT.

It should be appreciated that the longitudinal and widthwise directionsof the film F are referred to as horizontal and vertical directions,respectively in order to simplify the description below.

A notch 516 is formed in a specified position of a leading end of a leftedge (upper edge in FIG. 3) of the film F with respect to its pull-outdirection. Further, a plurality of rectangular holes (hereinafter,"perforations" 517 to 519 are formed along the left edge. Theperforation 517 is indicative of a rear end of the leader portion 513and is formed in a specified position of a rear end of the leaderportion 513. The perforations 518, 519 are formed in specified positionsof front and rear ends of each frame K to indicate front and rear endpositions of an exposure area of each frame K.

Magnetic recording portions 520 are provided in positions correspondingto the respective frames K at a right edge (lower edge in FIG. 3) of thefilm F. Pieces of information concerning an image recorded in each frameK including a date of photographing, framing (verticallyframed/horizontally framed), an exposure control value, andmagnification are recordable on the magnetic recording portion 520.

The notch 516 and the perforations 517 to 519 are detected byphotointerrupters PI1, PI2 provided at an upper guide member 38 forguiding the film F being fed as shown in FIG. 4, and a feed control suchas loading, winding or rewinding is performed in accordance with thedetection signal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a positional relationship of a cartridgechamber 11, an exposure frame 37, and a film take-up chamber 17 providedin a camera main body 1 when the camera is viewed from behind.

When viewed from behind, the cartridge chamber 11 is provided at a rightside of the camera main body 1, the film take-up chamber 17 is providedat a left side of the camera main body 1, and the exposure frame 37 isprovided between the cartridge chamber 11 and the film take-up chamber17. The exposure frame 37 is a horizontally long frame provided with anexposure aperture 39 of substantially the same size as the exposure areaof each frame K in a position corresponding to an optic axis of a takinglens provided substantially in the middle of the camera main body 1. Atthe upper and lower sides of the exposure frame 37 are provided guidemembers 38, 38' for guiding the film F pulled out of the cartridge KT.At the upper guide member 38, the photointerrupters PI1, PI2 areprovided in positions facing the opposite left and right ends of theexposure aperture 39.

When the film F pulled out of the cartridge KT moves over the exposureframe 37, the notch 516 and the perforations 517 to 519 cross opticalpaths of the photointerrupters PI1, PI2, thereby being detected.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are front and bottom views showing the externalconfiguration of the camera according to the invention.

A taking lens system 2 is provided substantially in the middle of thefront surface of the camera main body 1, and an AF distance measuringdevice 3 and a viewfinder system 4 are provided above the taking lenssystem 2. Further, there are provided a built-in flash 5 at an upperright end portion of the front surface of the camera main body 1; a grip6 at a left end portion of the front surface thereof; and a releasebutton 7 in a position above the grip 6.

A battery chamber 12 and the cartridge chamber 11 are provided in theleft side part of the camera main body 1. A battery as power source iscontained in the battery chamber 12 by removing a detachable batterycover 9 provided at a left end of the camera main body 1, and thecartridge KT is contained in the cartridge chamber 11 by opening acartridge cover 8 openably provided at a cartridge loading opening 43(see FIG. 7) at the bottom surface of the camera main body 1 (see FIG.6).

In the camera according to the invention, a drive for the film feed suchas loading, winding and rewinding and drives for opening and closing thelight blocking lid 502 and unlocking the cartridge cover 8 are performedby a torque of a single motor. The reason why the cartridge cover 8 isalso unlocked by means of the torque of the motor is to prevent anerroneous ejection of the cartridge KT while the film F is pulled out ofthe cartridge KT. For this purpose, a series of operations including therewinding of the film F into the cartridge KT and the unlocking of thecartridge cover 8 are automatically controlled at the camera side.Accordingly, an unlocking button 10 for instructing the unlocking of thecartridge cover 8 is provided in a specified position of the bottomsurface of the camera main body 1.

Further, a round hole 13 used to externally drive a fork 24 (see FIG. 7)fitted to the lower spool 506 of the cartridge KT is formed in aspecified position of the outer surface (the surface exposed to theoutside) of the cartridge cover 8, and a rectangular hole 14 used todisengage gear wheels of a second torque transmission mechanism 200 (seeFIG. 7) including a gear wheel train to be described later is formed ina specified middle position of the bottom surface of the camera mainbody 1.

The round hole 13 and the rectangular hole 14 are openings used tocompletely rewind the film F into the cartridge KT by externallyrotating the fork 24 when the motor drive causes an abnormality in thefilm feeding system while the film F is pulled out of the cartridge KT.These holes 13, 14 are covered by sheet members 15, 16, respectively soas to be normally invisible from outside. How the fork 24 is externallydriven in the case of an abnormality is described later.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are vertical and horizontal sections schematically showingan essential portion of the internal construction of the cameraaccording to the invention when viewed from the front and when viewedfrom the above of the camera, respectively.

Inside the camera main body 1, the battery chamber 12 and the cartridgechamber 11 are arranged at the left side of the taking lens system 2when viewed from the front of the camera, and the cylindrical filmtake-up chamber 17 is arranged at the right side thereof.

The battery chamber 12, the cartridge chamber 11 and the film take-upchamber 17 are integrally or unitarily formed by a housing 31 shown inFIG. 9. The taking lens system 2 is accommodated in a recess 32 of thehousing 31 connecting the cartridge chamber 11 and the film take-upchamber 17, and a take-up spool 18 is rotatably arranged by beinginserted into round holes 33, 33' formed in positions on the axialcenter of the film take-up chamber 17. On the outer surface of thetake-up spool 18 is provided a friction member 18A for fixing the film Fby action of a frictional force.

The housing 31 includes a first housing member 31A (a hatched member inFIGS. 8 and 9) forming the rear side walls of the battery chamber 12 andthe cartridge chamber 11, and a second housing member 31B forming thecartridge chamber 11, the recess 32 for the taking lens system 2 and thefilm take-up chamber 17. The cartridge chamber 11 is formed by combiningthe first and second housings members 31A, 31B.

The housing 31 is divided into the first and second housing members 31A,31B to facilitate assembling in consideration of the necessity toprovide an ejecting mechanism 300 in the cartridge chamber 11. Asdescribed later, the first housing member 31A is integrally or unitarilyprovided with the ejecting mechanism 300 for the cartridge KT and alocking mechanism 400 for the cartridge cover 8. In other words, theejecting mechanism 300 and the locking mechanism 400 are integrated intothe first housing member 31A. The construction and operation of theejecting mechanism 300 and the locking mechanism 400 are described indetail later.

In FIG. 9, a fork 22 is rotatably fitted into a round hole 34 from abovethe second housing member 31B, and the lid opening key for the lightblocking lid 502 is rotatably fitted into a round hole 35 from above thesecond housing 31B. A transmission shaft 20 to be described later isarranged by being inserted into round holes 36, 36'.

In FIG. 8, the battery chamber 12 is provided at a right end portion ofa rear part of the camera when viewed from above the camera, and thecartridge chamber 11 is provided in a position obliquely before thebattery chamber 12.

Where the battery chamber 12 and the cartridge chamber 11 are arranged,the locking mechanism 400 for the cartridge cover 8, a drive motor Mused to feed the film F, and a drive motor used to drive the taking lenssystem 2 (not shown) are provided. Above the cartridge chamber 11, thereis provided a first torque transmission mechanism 100 for transmitting atorque of the drive motor M to the fork 22, the take-up spool 18 and thelike to rotate the spool 505 of the cartridge KT.

The locking mechanism 400 is adapted to lock the cartridge cover 8 byfitting an engaging claw 412 of a lock lever 407 into an engaging hole84 of an engagement portion 83 projecting from the cartridge cover 8when the cartridge cover 8 is rotated to its close position where itcloses the cartridge loading opening 43. The locking mechanism 400 isdescribed in detail later.

The cartridge chamber 11 has substantially the same inner shape as theouter shape of the cartridge KT. The fork 22 is rotatably fitted intothe spool 505 in a position of an end surface 11a of the cartridge 11opposite from the cartridge loading opening 43 (hereinafter, "uppersurface 11a"). A fork gear wheel 23 is provided at a base end of thefork 22. The torque of the drive motor M is transmitted to the firsttorque transmission mechanism 100 to pull the film F out of thecartridge KT during the winding and loading of the film F.

On the other hand, a fork gear wheel 25 is provided at a base end of thefork 24 provided at the cartridge cover 8. A gear wheel 26 formed with agear wheel-shaped key slot 27 in its face facing the round hole 13 is inmesh with the fork gear wheel 25. The gear wheel 26 is used for theexternal drive of the film F at the time of occurrence of abnormality inthe film feeding system. An unillustrated gear wheel of specified shapeis fitted into the key slot 27 through the round hole 13 and is rotatedmanually or via a motor to rotate the fork 24.

As shown in FIG. 10, the first and second torque transmission mechanisms100, 200 are connected with the transmission shaft 20 provided uprightin parallel with the center axis of the cartridge chamber 11. The torqueof the drive motor M is transmitted to the second torque transmissionmechanism 200 via the first torque transmission mechanism 100 and thetransmission shaft 20.

The transmission shaft 20 is arranged in a clearance between a side wallof the cartridge chamber 11 corresponding to the film outlet 501 and thebarrel of the taking lens system 2 (see FIG. 8). By arranging thetransmission shaft 20 in a position where it is covered by the cartridgecover 8 as shown in FIG. 7, the connection of the first and secondtorque transmission mechanisms 100, 200 can be easily realized,effectively utilizing the already existing clearance, and a torquetransmission path of the torque transmission assembly including thefirst torque transmission mechanism 100, the transmission shaft 20 andthe second torque transmission mechanism 200 can be maximally shortenedalong the widthwise direction of the camera, thereby shortening thewidthwise dimension of the camera main body.

The second torque transmission mechanism 200 includes three gear wheels201, 202 and 203 in mesh with each other, and a gear wheel 204 which isrotatably mounted on a shaft 205 of the gear wheel 203 together with thegear wheel 203 and is in mesh with a spool gear wheel 19 provided at abase end of the take-up spool 18.

A gear wheel 21 secured to the bottom end of the transmission shaft 20is in mesh with the gear wheel 201. A torque transmitted from the firsttorque transmission mechanism 100 via the transmission shaft 20 istransmitted further to the take-up spool 18 via the second torquetransmission mechanism 200 including a gear wheel train of the gearwheels 201 to 204 and the spool gear wheel 19.

A rotatable shaft 202a of the gear wheel 202 is slightly movable alongforward and backward directions (along a direction of arrow A1 in FIG.10) of the camera. When an abnormality occurs in the film feeding systemwhile the film F is pulled out of the cartridge KT, the sheet members15, 16 are removed to expose the round hole 13 and the rectangular hole14. The rotatable shaft 202a of the gear wheel 202 is moved from therectangular hole 14 along a direction of arrow A2 to disengage the gearwheel 202 from the gear wheels 201 and 203. Thereafter, by externallydriving the fork 24 through the round hole 13 in this state, the film Fcan be completely rewound into the cartridge KT.

If the shaft 202a is not movable along the forward and backwarddirections, but withdrawable, the shaft 202a may be withdrawn throughthe rectangular hole 14 and displaced along the forward or backwarddirection to disengage the gear wheel 201 from the gear wheel 202 or todisengage the gear wheel 202 from the gear wheel 203.

As shown in FIG. 12, the gear wheel 202 may be constituted by aplanetary gear wheel. In such a case, a carrier 206 may be rotatedcounterclockwise (a direction of arrow A3 in FIG. 12) from therectangular hole 14 to disengage the gear wheel 202 from the gear wheel203. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the first torque transmissionmechanism 100 may be provided with a gear wheel 28 for the externaldrive which is meshable with the fork gear wheel 23, and a round hole 29corresponding to the round hole 13 may be formed in a specified positionof the upper surface of the camera main body 1 so that the fork gearwheel 23 can be externally driven via the gear wheel 28 from the uppersurface of the camera main body 1.

Although the round hole 13 and the rectangular hole 14 are provided withthe sheet members 15, 16 in this embodiment, covers which openably coverthe holes 13, 14 may, for example, be provided instead of the sheetmembers 15, 16.

Next, the first torque transmission mechanism 100 is described.

FIGS. 14 to 16 show the construction of the first transmission mechanism100. FIGS. 14 to 16 are perspective views showing an essential portionof the construction when viewed from the front of the camera, whenviewed from the back of the camera, and when viewed from the above ofthe camera. It should be appreciated that a mechanism for opening andclosing the light blocking lid 502 and a mechanism for unlocking thecartridge cover 8 are omitted from FIG. 14.

The first torque transmission mechanism 100 is mainly provided with afirst gear device 101 (hereinafter, "rewinding gear device 101"), asecond gear device 102 (hereinafter, "winding gear device 102"), a thirdgear device 103 (hereinafter, "thrust gear device 103"), a cam mechanism104, a crank mechanism 105 and a lid opening/closing gear device 106.The rewinding gear device 101 is adapted to rewind the film F bytransmitting the torque of the drive motor M to the fork gear wheel 23.The winding gear device 102 is adapted to wind the film F during thefilm winding and the film loading by transmitting the torque of thedrive motor M to the transmission shaft 20. The thrust gear device 103is adapted to pull the film F out of the cartridge KT during the filmloading by transmitting the torque of the drive motor M to the fork gearwheel 23. The cam mechanism 104 is adapted to switch a transmissiondirection of the torque of the drive motor M. The crank mechanism 105 isadapted to unlock the cartridge cover 8 and to open and close the lightblocking lid 502 of the cartridge KT. The lid opening/closing geardevice 106 is adapted to transmit the torque of the drive motor M to thecrank mechanism 105.

Further, the respective members of first torque transmission mechanism100 are arranged as a unit on a support plate 167.

The cam mechanism 104 controllably switches the engagement of therespective planetary gear wheels 112, 118, 123 and 130 of the geardevices 101, 102, 103 and 106 with corresponding specified gear wheelsin accordance with a drive mode such as a film rewinding mode, a filmwinding mode, a film loading or a cartridge cover unlocking mode(hereinafter, "unlocking mode").

The cam mechanism 104 includes a transmission wheel 138 and adisk-shaped cam 139 having a slightly smaller diameter than thetransmission gear wheel 138 and having two stepped cam surfaces 140 onits circumferential surface. The cam 139 is coupled with anunillustrated rotatable shaft provided in the center of the uppersurface of the transmission gear wheel 138 via an one-way clutch. Inthis embodiment, the cam mechanism 104 is, as shown in FIG. 16, suchthat its center of rotation O is slightly displaced toward the frontsurface of the camera from a center of rotation O' of the fork gearwheel 23. However, the centers of rotation O, O' may coincide with eachother.

The fork 22 extending through the support plate 167 is rotatablysupported between the support plate 167 and an unillustrated secondsupport plate arranged at an upper portion of the fork gear wheel 23.The cam mechanism 104 is arranged in a specified position of the uppersurface of the second support plate.

When the transmission gear wheel 138 rotates clockwise when viewed fromabove the camera, the cam 139 rotates together with the transmissiongear wheel 138, with the result that the cam surfaces rotate. When thetransmission gear wheel rotates counterclockwise, the cam 139 idlyrotates, with the result that the cam surfaces 140 are held in their setpositions.

A control of switching the transmission direction of the torque of thedrive motor M by the cam mechanism 104 is described in detail later.

The rewinding gear device 101 includes a sun gear wheel 109, a reductiongear wheel 110 coaxially provided on the upper surface of the sun gearwheel 109, a planetary gear wheel 112 in mesh with the sun gear wheel109, and a carrier 114 rotatably coupled with a shaft 111 of the sungear wheel 109 and a shaft 113 of the planetary gear wheel 112. In thefilm rewinding mode, the rewinding gear device 101 transmits the torqueof the drive motor M to the fork gear wheel 23 via a motor gear wheel107, the sun gear wheel 109 and the planetary gear wheel 112.

The rewinding gear device 101 is arranged around the transmission gearwheel 138 and between the transmission gear wheel 138 and the motor gearwheel 107 secured to a shaft 108 of the drive motor M (in a positionobliquely below the transmission gear wheel 138 to the left in FIG. 16)with the sun gear wheel 109 and the reduction gear wheel 110 meshed withthe motor gear wheel 107 and the transmission gear wheel 138,respectively.

The carrier 114 is V-shaped and has a bent portion 114a formed with astepped portion with respect to its height. In a position of the upperstage of the bent portion 114a, a contact piece 115 which comes intocontact with the cam surface 140a at the lower stage (hereinafter,"first cam surface 140a) projects toward the cam 139. The contact piece115 restricts the rotation of the of the planetary gear wheel 112.

As shown in FIG. 14, the motor gear wheel 107, the sun gear wheel 109,the planetary gear wheel 112 and the fork gear wheel 23 are located atthe same height. When a torque produced by the forward rotation of thedrive motor M is transmitted to the rewinding gear device 101 via themotor gear wheel 107, the planetary gear wheel 112 revolves around thesun gear wheel 109 counterclockwise to be engaged with the fork gearwheel 23. However, since the contact piece 115 comes into contact withthe first cam surface 140a of the cam 139, the counterclockwise rotationof the carrier 114 is restricted, with the result that the revolution ofthe planetary gear wheel 112 is restricted.

On the other hand, the first cam surface 140a is formed with a cam slot141 in a specified circumferential position as described later. When thecam 139 is set in an area where the contact piece 115 faces the cam slot141 (hereinafter, "film rewinding area"), the film rewinding mode is setas a drive mode (see FIG. 14).

Unless the set rotational position of the cam 139 (hereinafter, "camposition") is located in the film rewinding area, the counterclockwiserotation of the carrier 114 is restricted. Accordingly, the planetarygear wheel 112 and the fork gear wheel 23 are not engaged, and thetorque of the drive motor M is not transmitted to the fork gear wheel23. If the cam position is located in the film rewinding area, thecarrier 114 is allowed to rotate counterclockwise, engaging theplanetary gear wheel 112 and the fork gear wheel 23 to transmit thetorque of the drive motor M to the fork gear wheel 23.

The winding gear device 102 is provided around and at the right side ofthe transmission gear wheel 138 when viewed from the front of thecamera, whereas the thrust gear device 103 is provided in a positionaround the transmission gear wheel 138 and obliquely before thetransmission gear wheel 138 to the right when viewed from the front ofthe camera (see FIG. 16).

The winding gear device 102 includes a sun gear wheel 116 secured to thetransmission shaft 20, a planetary gear wheel 118 in mesh with the sungear wheel 116, and a carrier 120 rotatably connected with a shaft 117of the sun gear wheel 116 and a shaft 119 of the planetary gear wheel118. In the film winding mode and the film loading mode, the windinggear device 102 transmits the torque of the drive motor M havingtransmitted to the transmission gear wheel 138 to the take-up spool 18via the planetary gear wheel 118, the sun gear wheel 116, thetransmission shaft 20 and the second torque transmission mechanism 200.

At an end of the carrier 120 toward the planetary gear wheel 118, thereis formed a contact piece 121 which projects toward the cam 139 so as tocome into contact with the cam surface 140b at the upper stage(hereinafter, "second cam surface 140b").

Further, the thrust gear device 103 includes a sun gear wheel 122secured to the transmission shaft 20 below the sun gear wheel 116, aplanetary gear wheel 123 in mesh with the sun gear wheel 122, a carrier126 rotatably connected with a shaft 124 and a shaft 125 of theplanetary gear wheel 123, and a torsion coil spring 129. The shaft 124is a center of revolution of the planetary gear wheel 112 and isprovided in a specified position between the planetary gear wheels 123and 112.

The carrier 126 is formed, in a specified position of its side surfacefacing the cam 139, with an L-shaped contact piece 127 having, at itsleading end, an upright portion 127a which is in contact with the firstcam surface 140a. The torsion oil spring 129 biases the planetary gearwheels 118 and 123 toward the transmission gear wheel 138 and the forkgear wheel 23 and is mounted on the shaft 117 between the carrier 120and the sun gear wheel 116. One end of the coil spring 129 is secured toa locking portion 128 formed in a specified position of the carrier 120,whereas the other end thereof is in pressing contact with the uprightportion 127a of the contact piece 127 of the carrier 126.

Since the sun gear wheel 116 of the winding gear device 102 and the sungear wheel 122 of the thrust gear device 103 are coaxially secured tothe transmission shaft 20, the sun gear wheels 116, 122 are constitutedby an integrally formed two speed gear wheel. Although the sun gearwheels 116, 122 are constituted by the two speed gear wheel in thisembodiment, a single gear wheel may commonly be used as these sun gearwheels 116, 122.

By coaxially arranging the sun gear wheels 116, 122 of the gear devices102, 103, the first torque transmission mechanism 100 can be made morecompact.

More specifically, in the case that the sun gear wheels 122, 116 are notcoaxially arranged, the torque of the drive motor M transmitted to thetransmission gear wheel 138 needs to be transmitted to the sun gearwheel 122 of the thrust gear device 103 without going via the windinggear device 102. Further, since the rotating direction of the fork gearwheel 23 in the film loading mode is reverse of that in the filmrewinding mode, at least one gear wheel needs to be provided between thetransmission gear wheel 138 and the sun gear wheel 122 to transmit thetorque having transmitted to the transmission gear wheel 138 to the sungear wheel 122. Accordingly, the sun gear wheel 122 and this gear wheelneed to be arranged in positions different from the position of the sungear wheel 116. As a result, the gear wheel construction of the firsttorque transmission mechanism 100 becomes more complicated and large.Therefore, by coaxially arranging the sun gear wheels 116, 122 orconstituting these gear wheels by a single gear wheel, the number of thegear wheels and the number of their arrangement positions can be greatlyreduced.

The thrust gear device 103 transmits the torque of the drive motor Mhaving transmitted to the transmission gear wheel 138 further to thetake-up fork gear wheel 23 via the winding gear device 102, the sun gearwheel 122 and the planetary gear wheel 123.

The contact piece 121 restricts the revolution of the planetary gearwheel 118, whereas the contact piece 127 restricts the rotationalmovement of the planetary gear wheel 123 toward the fork gear wheel 23.

As shown in FIG. 14, the thrust gear device 103 is provided at the sameheight as the fork gear wheel 23, whereas the winding planetary gearwheel 102 is provided at the same height as the transmission gear wheel138. Since counterclockwise rotational forces about the shafts 117, 124are respectively applied to the carriers 120, 126 by the torsion coilspring 129, the planetary gear wheel 118 revolves counterclockwisearound the sun gear wheel 116 so as to be meshable with the transmissiongear wheel 138, and the planetary gear wheel 123 rotatescounterclockwise about the shaft 124 while being meshed with the sungear wheel 122 so as to be meshable with the fork gear wheel 23.However, since the contact pieces 121, 127 come into contact with thefirst and second cam surfaces 140a, 140b of the cam 139, respectively,the counterclockwise rotation of the carriers 120, 126 is restricted,with the result that revolution of the planetary gear wheel 118 and therotation of the planetary gear wheel 123 toward the fork gear wheel 23are restricted.

As described later, two cam slots 142, 143 are formed in the second camsurface 140b in specified positions along the same circumferentialdirection as the cam slot 141 is formed in the first cam surface 140a.When the cam position is set in an area where the contact piece 121faces the cam slot 143 (hereinafter, "film winding area") or in an areawhere both contact pieces 121, 127 face the cam slot 142 (hereinafter,"film loading area"), the film winding mode or the film loading mode isset as a drive mode.

Unless the cam position is located in the film winding area or the filmloading area, the counterclockwise rotation of the carrier 120 isrestricted, deterring the engagement of the planetary gear wheel 118 andthe transmission gear wheel 138. Accordingly, the torque of the drivemotor M is not transmitted to the take-up spool 18. However, if the camposition is located in the film winding area or the film loading area,the carrier 120 is allowed to rotate counterclockwise. Accordingly, theplanetary gear wheel 118 is allowed to be engaged with the transmissiongear wheel 138, thereby transmitting the torque of the drive motor tothe take-up spool 18.

On the other hand, if the cam position is not located in the filmloading area, the rotation of the carrier 126 is restricted, deterringthe engagement of the planetary gear wheel 123 and the fork gear wheel23. Accordingly, the torque of the drive motor M is not transmitted tothe fork gear wheel 23. If the cam position is located in the filmloading area, the carrier 126 is allowed to rotate. Accordingly, theplanetary gear wheel 123 is allowed to be engaged with the fork gearwheel 23, thereby transmitting the torque of the drive motor M to thefork gear wheel 23.

The crank mechanism 105 includes a strip-shaped crank lever 149, adisk-shaped crank plate 146 and a crank gear wheel 145, and is providedat a rear end portion of the first torque transmission mechanism 100.

The crank lever 149 is so provided as to be reciprocally movable alongthe widthwise direction of the camera main body 1. The forward movement(a movement toward the left as indicated by an arrow A4 in FIG. 16) ofthe crank lever 149 unlocks the cartridge cover 8 by rotating an unlocklever 401 rotatably provided at one widthwise end of the rear part ofthe first torque transmission mechanism 100 (upper left corner in FIG.16). The reciprocal movement of the crank lever 149 also opens andcloses the light blocking lid 502 by rotating a lid opening key 154 foropening and closing the light blocking lid 502 rotatably provided at theother widthwise end (upper right corner in FIG. 16) of the rear part ofthe first torque transmission mechanism 100.

The crank lever 149 is formed at its left end with a tapered contactportion 150, and at the front edge of its right end with a recess 152which is long in the widthwise direction. Engaging portions 153, 153'are formed at ends of the recess 152. In a position of the support plate167 facing the key hole 504 of the cartridge KT, the lid opening key 154is so provided as to be rotatable between a position where it completelyopens the light blocking lid 502 (hereinafter, "open position") andanother position where it completely closes the light blocking lid 502(hereinafter, "close position").

The lid opening key 154 is such as shown in FIG. 15. Specifically, a keyportion 157 of specified shape to be fitted into the key hole 504projects in the center of the lower surface of a disk-shaped baseportion 156 which is formed with a jaw portion 155 on its upper surface,and a shaft 158 projects in the center of the upper surface of the jawportion 155. A contact portion 159 radially extending from the shaft 158projects in a specified position of the upper surface of the jaw portion155, and a contact piece 160 projecting more outward than the outersurface of the jaw portion 155 is formed at the leading end of thecontact portion 159 with respect to a radial direction. The contactpiece 160 comes into contact with stoppers 161, 161' provided inspecified positions of the support plate 167 so as to form a specifiedangle with respect to the shaft 158 (about 90° in FIG. 16), therebyrestricting the rotatable range of the lid opening key 154 to a rangedefined by the open and close positions. It should be noted that thestoppers 161, 161' correspond to the open and close positions,respectively.

An engaging pin 162 engageable with the engaging portions 153, 153' ofthe crank lever 149 projects upward in a peripheral position of theupper surface of the jaw portion 155 opposite from the contact portion159. Further, in an intermediate position of the shaft 158, an arm 163radially projects in a curved manner. At an upper face of the leadingend of the arm 163, a pin 164 projects in parallel with the shaft 158.The opposite ends of a torsion coil spring 166 are rotatably supportedbetween the pin 164 and a pin 165 projecting in a specified position ofthe support plate 167. This spring 166 renders a rotational force to thelid opening key 154.

Accordingly, while the cartridge KT is loaded, the lid opening key 154is held in a position (open position) where the contact portion 159 isin contact with the stopper 161 by the spring force of the coil spring166.

On the other hand, upon the reciprocal movement of the crank lever 149in a mode wherein the light blocking lid 502 is opened/closed and thecartridge cover 8 is unlocked (hereinafter, lid opening/closing mode),the engaging portion 153 comes into engagement with the engaging pin 162of the lid opening key 154 to rotate the lid opening key 154 in thereverse direction to its close position. As a result, the light blockinglid 502 is closed. When the crank lever 149 moves from its standbyposition by a longer distance than specified, the spring force of thecoil spring 166 acts to render a counterclockwise rotational force tothe lid opening key 154, with the result that the light blocking lid 154is securely kept in its close position.

After the light blocking lid 502 is completely closed, the contactportion 150 comes into contact with a contact portion 404 of the unlocklever 401 by the movement of the crank lever 149, thereby rotating theunlock lever 401 counterclockwise about a shaft 406. As a result, thelocking mechanism 400 for locking the cartridge cover 8 is unlocked.

The closing of the light blocking lid 502 and the unlocking of thelocking mechanism 400 for the cartridge cover 8 when the cartridge KT istaken out of the cartridge chamber 11 are described in detail later.

The crank gear wheel 145 and the crank plate 146 are secured to upperand lower ends of a shaft 148 rotatably supported through anunillustrated second support plate so that the crank plate 146 rotatestogether with the crank gear wheel 145. Further, a crank pin 147projects downward in a peripheral position of the lower surface of thecrank plate 146, and is loosely fitted in a round hole 151 formed in aspecified left end position of the crank lever 149. When the crank gearwheel 145 rotates, the crank plate 146 rotates together therewith. As aresult, the crank pin 147 rotates about the shaft 148 to move the cranklever 149 along the widthwise direction.

The lid opening/closing gear device 106 includes a planetary gear wheel130 formed by a two speed gear wheel, a carrier 131 for rotatablysupporting the planetary gear wheel 130 about a shaft 134 and a torsioncoil spring 136 for applying a biasing force to the carrier 131 torotate it clockwise. In the lid opening/closing mode, the gear device106 transmits the torque of the drive motor M having transmitted to thetransmission gear wheel 138 further to the crank gear wheel 145 via theplanetary gear wheel 130.

The lid opening/closing gear device 106 is arranged at the left side ofthe transmission gear wheel 138 when viewed from the front such that anupper gear wheel 130b of the planetary gear wheel 130 (hereinafter,"second planetary gear wheel 130b") is in mesh with the crank gear wheel145 (see FIG. 16).

The carrier 131 is rotatably supported on the shaft 134 and a shaft 135of the planetary gear wheel 130. In a specified position of a sidesurface of the carrier 131 facing the cam 139, an L-shaped contact piece132 which is bent downward so that its leading end comes into contactwith the first cam surface 140a of the cam 139. Further, a lockingportion 133 is formed in a specified position of a side surface of thecarrier 131 opposite from the side surface facing the cam 139. One endof the torsion coil spring 136 is secured to the locking portion 133while the other end thereof is secured to a pin 137 provided on thesecond support plate.

The contact piece 132 acts to restrict the rotation of the planetarygear wheel 130 about the shaft 134 toward the transmission gear wheel138. As shown in FIG. 15, since the planetary gear wheel 130 is arrangedin such a position that the lower gear wheel thereof (hereinafter,"first planetary gear wheel 130a") is located at the same height as thetransmission gear wheel 138 and the coil spring 136 renders a rotationalforce to the carrier 131 so as to rotate the carrier 131 clockwise aboutthe shaft 134, the planetary gear wheel 130 rotates about the shaft 134so as to be meshable with the transmission gear wheel 138. However,since the contact piece 132 comes into contact with the first camsurface 140a of the cam 139, the clockwise rotation of the carrier 131is restricted, with the result that the rotation of the planetary gearwheel 130 toward the transmission gear wheel 138 is restricted.

Accordingly, unless the cam position is located in an area where thecontact piece 132 faces the cam slot 141 of the first cam surface 140a(hereinafter, "lid opening/closing area"), the clockwise rotation of thecarrier 131 is restricted, deterring the engagement of the planetarygear wheel 130 and the transmission gear wheel 138. As a result, thetorque of the drive motor M is not transmitted to the crank gear wheel145. If the cam position is located in the lid opening/closing area, thecarrier 131 is allowed to rotate to engage the first planetary gearwheel 130a with the transmission gear wheel 138. As a result, the torqueof the drive motor M is transmitted to the crank gear wheel 145 via theplanetary gear wheel 130.

Next, a control for the transmission of the torque of the drive motor Min the first torque transmission mechanism 100 is described.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a relationship between rotational positionranges of the cam 139 and the film rewinding area, the film windingarea, the film loading area, the lid opening/closing area.

In FIG. 17, X, Y axes define orthogonal coordinate systems set at thecenter of rotation O of the cam 139 so as to be parallel with the opticaxis of the taking lens system 2. Angle areas 1 to 4 are rotationalposition ranges of the cam 139 corresponding to the film winding area,the lid opening/closing area, the film rewinding area and the filmloading area, respectively. As is clear from FIG. 17, the angle areas 1to 4 corresponding to the areas of the respective drive modes areseparately defined in first to fourth quadrants, respectively. This isdone in view of reliability in switching the torque transmission.

If the reference of rotation of the cam 139 is assumed to be a projectedportion 144 partitioning the cam slots 142, 143 formed in the second camsurface 140b, the transmission direction of the torque of the drivemotor M can be switched by controlling the angle of the cam 139 so thatthe projected portion 144 is located in the angle areas 1 to 4. Itshould be noted that a direction of arrow A5 in FIG. 17 is a rotatingdirection of the cam 139 for the switching of the cam position.

FIG. 18 shows the contact positions of the respective contact pieces115, 121, 127, 132 with the cam surfaces 140 when the cam position isset in the film winding area 1; FIG. 19 shows the contact positions ofthe respective contact pieces 115, 121, 127, 132 with the cam surfaces140 when the cam position is set in the lid opening/closing area 2; FIG.20 shows the contact positions of the respective contact pieces 115,121, 127, 132 with the cam surfaces 140 when the cam position is set inthe film rewinding area 3; and FIG. 21 shows the contact positions ofthe respective contact pieces 115, 121, 127, 132 with the cam surfaces140 when the cam position is set in the film loading area 4.

As described above, when the contact pieces 115, 127, 132 face the camslot 142 of the first cam surface 140a and the contact piece 121 facesthe cam slot 143 of the second cam surface 140b, the planetary gearwheels 112, 123 are meshed with the fork gear wheel 23, and theplanetary gear wheel 112 and the first planetary gear wheel 130a aremeshed with the transmission gear wheel 138. If "∘", "x" denote a meshedstate and an unmeshed state, the state of the planetary gear wheels 112,118, 123, 130a of the gear devices 101, 102, 103, 106 at the respectivepositions of the cam 139 are as shown in TABLE-1 below.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        STATE OF GEAR WHEELS                                                                  GEAR        GEAR      GEAR    GEAR                                    POSITION                                                                                    WHEEL  WHEEL    WHEEL    WHEEL                                  OF THE          112  118      123      130a                                   CAM 139 (REWINDING) (WINDING) (LOADING)                                                                             (LID O/C)                               ______________________________________                                        FILM    x           ∘                                                                           x       x                                       WINDING                                                                       AREA 1                                                                        LID O/C         x          x          x                                                                                  ∘                      AREA 2                                                                        FILM               ∘                                                                         x          x                                                                                  x                                  RE-                                                                           WINDING                                                                       AREA 3                                                                        FILM           x           ∘                                                                            ∘                                                                      x                                  LOADING                                                                       AREA 4                                                                        ______________________________________                                    

FIGS. 22 to 25 show the transmission direction of the torque of thedrive motor M in the first torque transmission mechanism 100 in the filmwinding mode, the film loading mode, the film rewinding mode and the lidopening/closing mode, respectively.

In FIGS. 22 to 25, solid line arrows show the transmission directions ofthe torque of the drive motor M, thin line arrows show the rotatingdirections of the respective gear wheels, and white arrows show themoving direction of the film F.

The film F is fed by drivingly rotating the drive motor M clockwise,whereas the cam position is switched by rotating the drive motor Mcounterclockwise.

In the film winding mode, as shown in FIG. 22, the torque of the drivemotor M is transmitted to the take-up spool 18 via the motor gear wheel107, the sun gear wheel 109, the reduction gear wheel 110, thetransmission gear wheel 138, the winding gear device 102, thetransmission shaft 20, the second torque transmission mechanism 200 andthe spool gear wheel 19, thereby rotating the take-up spool 18 to windthe film F. Although the torque of the drive motor M is also transmittedto the rewinding gear device 101 and the thrust gear device 103, thefork 22 idly rotates since the planetary gear wheels 112, 123 are notmeshed with the fork gear wheel 23. Accordingly, the fork 22 is rotatedby the movement of the film F in the winding direction by take-up spool18.

In the film loading mode, as shown in FIG. 23, the torque of the drivemotor M is transmitted to the fork 22 via the motor gear wheel 107, thesun gear wheel 109, the reduction gear wheel 110, the transmission gearwheel 138, the winding gear device 102, the thrust gear device 103 andthe fork gear wheel 23, thereby rotating the fork 22 clockwise to feedthe film F from the film cartridge KT. The torque of the drive motor Mis also transmitted to the take-up spool 18 via the motor gear wheel107, the sun gear wheel 109, the reduction gear wheel 110, thetransmission gear wheel 138, the winding gear device 102, thetransmission shaft 20, the second torque transmission mechanism 200 andthe spool gear wheel 19, thereby rotating the take-up spool 18 clockwiseto take up the fed film F by the take-up spool 18.

In the rewinding mode, as shown in FIG. 24, the torque of the drivemotor M is transmitted to the fork 22 via the motor gear wheel 107, therewinding gear device 101 and the fork gear wheel 23, thereby rotatingthe fork 22 counterclockwise to rewind the film F. Since the planetarygear wheel 118 is not in mesh with the transmission gear wheel 138, thetorque of the drive motor M having transmitted to the transmission gearwheel 138 is not transmitted to the take-up spool 18. Accordingly, thetake-up spool 18 is rotated in the reverse direction by the movement ofthe film F in the rewinding direction by the fork 22.

In the lid opening/closing mode, as shown in FIG. 25, the torque of thedrive motor M is transmitted to the crank plate 146 via the motor gearwheel 107, the sun gear wheel 109, the reduction gear wheel 110, thetransmission gear wheel 138, the planetary gear wheel 130 and the crankgear wheel 145, thereby rotating the crank plate 146 clockwise to movethe crank lever 149. By the movement of the crank lever 149, the openingand closing of the light blocking lid 502 of the cartridge KT and of thecartridge cover 8 are performed in succession as described later afterthe rewinding of the film F is completed.

As described above, by providing the first torque transmission mechanism100 outside the upper surface 11a of the cartridge chamber 11 and byproviding the second torque transmission mechanism 200 connected withthe first torque transmission mechanism 100 via the transmission shaft20 below the taking lens system 2, the torque of the drive motor Mprovided at the side of the bottom part of the cartridge chamber 11 forthe film feed is transmitted to the fork 22 via the first torquetransmission mechanism 100 and also to the take-up spool 18 via thefirst torque transmission mechanism 100, the transmission shaft 20 andthe second torque transmission mechanism 200. Accordingly, the drivingsystem for the film feed can be made compact.

Particularly, in the first torque transmission mechanism 100, thetransmission gear wheel 138 with which the cam 139 is coaxiallyconnected is arranged coaxially or in an eccentric position with respectto the fork gear wheel 23. Further, around the transmission gear wheel138 are arranged the rewinding gear device 101 for transmitting thetorque of the drive motor M to the fork gear wheel 23 in the filmrewinding mode; the winding gear device 102 for transmitting the torqueof the drive motor M having transmitted to the transmission gear wheel138 further to the transmission shaft 20 in the film winding mode andthe film loading mode; the thrust gear device 103 for transmitting thetorque of the drive motor M having transmitted to the transmission shaft20 further to the fork gear wheel 23 in the film loading mode; the crankmechanism 105 for opening and closing the light blocking lid 502 and thecartridge cover 8; and the lid opening/closing gear device 106 fortransmitting the torque of the drive motor M having transmitted to thetransmission gear wheel 138 further to the crank gear wheel 145 in thelid opening/closing mode. By switching the cam position of the cam 139,the connection of the planetary gear wheels 112, 118, 123, 130 of thegear devices 101 to 103, 106 is controllably switched in the respectivedrive modes. Accordingly, the first torque transmission mechanism 100can be arranged in a compact manner outside the upper surface 11a of thecartridge chamber 11, contributing to the downsizing of the camera as awhole.

Next, the opening and closing of the light blocking lid 502 and thecartridge cover 8 in the lid opening/closing mode is described.

FIGS. 26A to 26F are diagrams showing the movement of the crank lever149, the lid opening key 154 and the unlock lever 401 in the lidopening/closing mode, wherein FIG. 26A shows the state where the lidopening key 154 is in its open position (standby position), FIG. 26Bshows a state where the position switch of the lid opening key 154 isstarted by the crank lever 149, FIG. 26C shows an intermediate statebetween the open position and close position of the lid opening key 154,FIG. 26D shows a state immediately before the crank lever 149 comes intocontact with the unlock lever 401, FIG. 26E shows a state after thecompletion of the unlocking by the crank lever 149, and FIG. 26F shows astate where the lid opening key 154 is in its close position (standbyposition).

When the lid opening button 10 is operated, the drive motor M is drivenin the reverse direction to set the cam position of the cam 139 in thelid opening/closing area 2. Thereafter, the drive motor M is rotatedclockwise by a specified number of turns and this torque is transmittedto the crank gear wheel 145 to effect the reciprocal movement of thecrank lever 149.

The crank lever 145 makes about a half clockwise turn upon the receiptof the torque of the drive motor M, thereby moving the crank lever 149from a predetermined standby position where the light blocking lid 502is open (hereinafter, "open standby position") to a predeterminedstandby position where the light blocking lid 502 is closed(hereinafter, "close standby position"). The open and close standbypositions are predetermined positions beyond the bottom and top deadcenters, respectively.

When the crank lever 149 is in the open standby position, the engagingportion 153' is located in a position more toward the torsion coilspring 166 than the shaft 158 of the lid opening key 154 (at the rightside of the shaft 158 in FIGS. 26A to 26F; hereinafter, "right sideposition"). Accordingly, the lid opening key 154 does not rotate to aposition where the engaging pin 162 is located more toward the unlocklever 401 than the shaft 158 (at the left side of the shaft 158 in FIGS.26A to 26F; hereinafter, "left side position").

In this state, since the pin 164 of the lid opening key 154 is alwayslocated at the right side of a line segment S1 drawn from the shaft 158toward the pin 165 and the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 166acts on the lid opening key 154 as a clockwise rotational force F1, thelid opening key 154 is kept in the open position where the contact piece160 is in contact with the stopper 161 (see FIG. 26A).

When the crank lever 149 is moved by a specified distance by therotation of the crank gear wheel 145, the engaging portion 153 engagesthe engaging pin 162 (see FIG. 26B). Further, when the lid opening key154 is rotated counterclockwise to an opening/closing position switchingpoint by the movement of the crank lever 149 (see FIG. 26C), the lidopening key 154 is switched to its open position. More specifically,when the lid opening key 154 is rotated to the position where theengaging pin 162 is located beyond the line segment S1 (hereinafter,"opening/closing position switching point") by the movement of the cranklever 149, the spring force of the coil spring 166 acts on the lidopening key 154 as a counterclockwise rotational force F1'. Accordingly,the lid opening key 154 is immediately rotated in the reverse directionto the close position where the contact piece 160 is in contact with thestopper 161' and is held in this position (see FIG. 26D).

Since the contact portion 150 of the crank lever 149 is not in contactwith the contact portion 404 of the unlock lever 401 at the time whenthe lid opening key 154 is rotated to the opening/closing positionswitching point, the opening or closing of the cartridge cover 8 is notperformed.

The crank lever 149 continues to move even after the position of the lidopening key 154 is switched. When the crank plate 146 reaches apredetermined position in proximity to the top dead center, the contactportion 150 comes into contact with the contact portion 404 of theunlock lever 401, thereby the opening or closing of the cartridge cover8 is started (see FIG. 26D). Upon the rotation of the crank plate 146beyond the top dead center, the unlock lever 401 rotatescounterclockwise about the shaft 406 to the lid opening/closingposition, with the result that the locking mechanism 400 startsopening/closing the cartridge cover 8 (see FIG. 26 E).

Thereafter, when the crank lever 149 moves to the open standby position,the drive motor M is stopped, thereby completing a series of the closingof the light blocking lid 502 and the opening/closing of the cartridgecover 8 (see FIG. 26F).

When the lid opening key 154 is switched from the open position to theclose position by the torsion coil spring 166, the engaging pin 162 isdisengaged from the engaging portion 153 of the recess 152, havingaccomplished its object. Thereafter, the engaging pin 162 simply slidesalong the periphery of the recess 152 toward the engaging portion 153'as the crank lever 149 moves.

The opening of the light blocking lid 502 when the cartridge KT isloaded in the cartridge chamber 11 is done by rotating the crank gearwheel 145 clockwise by the torque of the drive motor M to move the cranklever 149 from its close standby position to its open standby position.

More specifically, when the crank lever 149 moves from its close standbyposition to its open standby position by a specified distance, theengaging portion 153' engages the engaging pin 162. When the lid openingkey 154 is rotated clockwise to the opening/closing position switchingpoint by the further movement of the crank lever 149, the spring forceof the coil spring 166 acts in the opposite direction, i.e. acts as theclockwise rotational force F1 and the lid opening key 154 is immediatelyrotated to the open position where the contact piece 160 is in contactwith the stopper 161 by the spring force of the coil spring 166. As aresult, the light blocking lid 502 is opened.

As described above, in this embodiment, the movable range of the cranklever 149 between the open standby position and the close standbyposition is divided into two: the lid opening key is rotated to theopening/closing position switching point to completely close the lightblocking lid 502 in the former movable range, and the unlock lever 401is rotated to the lid opening/closing position to unlock the lockingmechanism 400 in the latter movable range. Accordingly, a specified timelag can be securely ensured between the closing of the light blockinglid 502 and the unlocking of the locking mechanism 400. Therefore, aseries of film eject controls to enable the withdrawal of the cartridgeKT by unlocking the locking mechanism 400 after completely closing thelight blocking lid 502 can be securely performed.

Further, since the open and close positions of the lid opening key 154are defined by the stoppers 161, 161' and the lid opening key 154 hasits position switched and is held in the switched position by the springforce of the torsion coil spring 166, the opening/closing of the lightblocking lid 502 can be performed with high accuracy. Furthermore, sinceit is sufficient for the crank lever 149 to make a stroke to rotate thelid opening key 154 to the opening/closing position switching point inorder to close the light blocking lid 502, the opening/closing of thelight blocking lid 502 and the opening/closing of the cartridge cover 8can be performed by a relatively short stroke of the crank lever 149.This makes it possible to construction the crank mechanism compact.

In order to pull the film F out of the cartridge KT and securely windthe film F around the take-up spool 18 when the first frame of the filmF is fed to the exposure position, the feeding speed of the film F bythe fork 22 needs to be sufficiently slower than the take-up speed ofthe film F by the take-up spool 18 (about twice as slow). However, inthis embodiment, since the torque of the drive motor M is transmitted tothe fork 22 and the take-up spool 18 and a torque transmission path fromthe drive motor M to the take-up spool 18 is longer than that from thedrive motor M to the fork 22, a deceleration rate to the fork 22 in thefirst torque transmission mechanism 100 is relatively large. This slowsthe feeding speed of the film F and makes the rapid loading of the filmF difficult.

In order to perform the film loading as rapidly as possible, the drivemode is switched from the film loading mode to the film winding mode atthe moment when the leading end of the film F is securely held betweenthe take-up spool 18 and a film presser 40, feeding the first frame tothe exposure position.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram of a control system for the film feed, andFIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the sequence of the film loading. FIGS.29 to 31 are diagrams showing the film F in respective feed positionsduring the film loading, wherein FIG. 29 shows the film F with theleading end thereof located in the detection position of thephotointerrupter PI2, FIG. 30 shows the film F with the perforation 518indicative of the front end position of the first frame K located in thedetection position of the photointerrupter PI1, and FIG. 31 shows thefilm F with the perforation 518 indicative of the front end position ofthe first frame K located in the detection position of thephotointerrupter PI2.

The control system for the film feed includes a CPU 170, a cam positionsensor 171, the photointerrupters PI1, PI2, a motor driver 172 and thedrive motor M. The cam position sensor 171 detects the rotationalposition of the cam 139, and is constituted, for example, by an encoderincluding a code plate opposed to the upper part of the cam 139 andthree brushes held in pressing contact with this code plate.

The cam position sensor 171 outputs sensor signals from the respectivebrushes (equivalent to on/off signals of switches) in a parallel manner.The respective cam positions are represented by a three-bit digitalsignal (a1, a2, a3). For example, (0, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 1, 1), (1,0, 0) correspond to the cam positions in the film winding area, the filmloading area, the film rewinding area and the lid opening/closing area.

The CPU 170 is a controller for the driving of the film feeding systemand includes a microcomputer. The CPU 170 controllably switches the camposition of the cam 139 in accordance with the sensor signal from thecam position sensor 171, and controllably starts and stops the feed ofthe film F in accordance with the detection signals of thephotointerrupters PI1, PI2.

The motor driver 172 controls the driving of the drive motor M inaccordance with a control signal from the CPU 170. The drive motor Mincludes, for example, a stepping motor, and the motor driver 172controls the respective drive parameters such as the rotating direction,the rotating amount, and the rotating speed by controlling a drive pulseoutput to the drive motor M.

After the bar code on the code plate 507 is read after the cartridge KTis loaded in the cartridge chamber 11 and the cartridge cover 8 islocked, the film loading is automatically executed by the CPU 170 inaccordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. 28.

First, when the drive motor M is driven in the reverse direction tochange the cam position of the cam 139 (Step #1) and the cam positionenters the film loading area 4 (YES in Step #2), the drive motor M isstopped (Step #3). Subsequently, the drive motor M is driven in theforward direction (Step #4) to pull the film F out of the cartridge KTin the film loading mode. The film F is fed until the leading end of thefilm F is detected by the photointerrupter PI2 (see FIG. 29) and theperforation 517 is detected by the photointerrupter PI1 (Steps #5 and#6). Upon detecting the perforation 517 (YES in Step #6, see FIG. 30),the drive motor M is stopped, thereby completing the motor drive in thefilm loading mode.

Subsequently, when the drive motor M is driven in the reverse directionto change the cam position of the cam 139 (Step #8) and the cam positionenters the film winding area 1 (YES in Step #9), the drive motor M isstopped (Step #10) and the motor drive in the film winding mode isstarted. More specifically, the drive motor M is driven in the forwarddirection (Step #11) to wind the film F at a high speed. When theperforation 518 corresponding to the first frame of the film F isdetected by the photointerrupter PI2 (YES in Step #12, see FIG. 31), thedrive motor M is stopped (Step #13), thereby completing the filmloading.

In the above flowchart, the drive mode is switched from the film loadingmode to the film winding mode at the moment when the perforation 517 isdetected by the photointerrupter PI1 because the leading end of the filmF is completely wound around the take-up spool 18 at this moment (astate where the film F is pressed against the take-up spool 18 by thefilm presser 40) and the film F can be further fed only by the take-upforce of the take-up spool 18.

As described above, in the film loading, after the leading end of thefilm F is completely held between the take-up spool 18 and the filmpresser 40, the drive mode is switched from the film loading mode to thefilm winding mode and the film F is fed only by the take-up operation ofthe take-up spool 18. Accordingly, a reduction in the efficiency of thefilm loading can be suppressed even in the case that the film loading isperformed only by the single drive motor M and the first and secondtorque transmission mechanisms 100, 200.

The notch 516 formed at the leading end of the film F has a depth dsubstantially equal to a distance between the edge of the film F and amiddle position of each of the perforations 517 to 519 as shown in FIG.3. Accordingly, the notch 516 is sometimes detected by thephotointerrupter PI1 and sometimes not. Accordingly, in the film feedcontrol executed on the assumption that the notch 516 never fails to bedetected by the photointerrupter PI1, the perforation 517 is mistakenlydetected as the notch 516 when the notch 516 is not detected. On theother hand, in the film feed control executed on the assumption that thenotch 516 is not going to be detected, the notch 516 is detected as theperforation 517 when the notch 516 is detected. Thus, it becomesdifficult to accurately feed the film F so that the image recording areaof the first frame K is located in the specified exposure position inthe film loading.

Accordingly, after detecting the leading end of the film F, thephotointerrupter PI2 does not detect the film F until thephotointerrupter PI1 detects the perforation 517. If the detection ofthe film F by the photointerrupter PI2 has been started after thephotointerrupter PI1 detected the perforation 517, the next detection ofthe absence of the film F by the photointerrupter PI2 means thedetection of the perforation 517. In this way, the insecure detectionsignal of the notch 516 by the photointerrupters PI1, PI2 can beeliminated.

Although the drive mode is switched when the perforation 517 is detectedby the photointerrupter P11 in the above flowchart, it may be switchedwhen the leading end of the film F is nipped between the film presser 40and the take-up spool 18. In such a case, a detection that the leadingend of the film F is nipped between the film presser 40 and the take-upspool 18 may be made as follows. The friction member 18A provided on theouter surfaces of the film presser 40 and the take-up spool 18 is madeof an electrically conductive material, and a current is suppliedbetween the film presser 40 and the friction member 18A. As indicated byphantom line in FIG. 27, a non-conductive state between the film presser40 and the friction member 18A resulting from a nip of the film Fbetween the film presser 40 and the friction member 18A can be detectedby the CPU 170.

Since the drive mode can be switched at an earliest timing after theleading end of the film F is completely wound around the take-up spool18 according to this method, the film loading can be more rapidlyperformed.

Next, the ejecting mechanism 300 for the cartridge KT and the lockingmechanism 400 for the cartridge cover 8 are described.

FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing the ejecting mechanism 300 for thecartridge KT and the locking mechanism 400 for the cartridge cover 8.

The ejecting mechanism 300 is provided on the outer side surface of aflat plate 41 forming the rear side surface of the cartridge chamber 11of the first housing member 31A (see FIGS. 8 and 9), whereas the lockingmechanism 400 for the cartridge cover 8 is provided on the outer sidesurface of a flat plate 42 forming a part of the side wall of thebattery chamber 12 of the first housing member 31A. In FIG. 32, thefirst housing member 31A is omitted in order to simplify the drawing.

First, the construction of the ejecting mechanism 300 is described.

The cartridge cover 8 has a pentagonal shape obtained by omitting acorner portion of one short side of a rectangular, and hinges 81, 81'for rotatably supporting the cartridge cover 8 are formed at theopposite corners of the other short side. A substantially disk-shapedbase portion 82 is provided substantially in the middle of the innersurface of the cartridge cover 8, and the fork 24 projects substantiallyin the middle of the base portion 82. The fork 24 is so biased as toproject by the coil spring 30 provided in the base portion 82 (see FIG.7).

The engagement portion 83 used to lock the cartridge cover 8 projects atthe leading end of the base portion 82 (an end facing the leading end ofthe cartridge cover 8). The engagement portion 83 is a projecting pieceformed in its center with a rectangular engaging hole 84. A supportportion 85 for rotatably supporting an eject hook lever 301 projects ina specified position of the inner surface of the cartridge cover 8,proximate to the corner of the base portion 82 facing the hinge 81'.

The support portion 85 is, as shown in FIG. 33, a rectangular projectingpiece formed in its center with an engaging hole 86 and in a specifiedposition on one side thereof with a V-shaped cut 87 communicating withthe engaging hole 86. The eject hook lever 301 has a shaft 302projecting at its base end and is rotatably connected with the cartridgecover 8 by fitting the shaft 302 into the engaging hole 86 through theV-shaped cut 87. Since the boundary between the engaging hole 86 and theV-shaped cut 87 has a width smaller than the diameter of the shaft 302,the shaft 302 having fitted into the engaging hole 86 does not easilycome out.

Since the connection construction is such a simple one of fitting theshaft 302 into the engaging hole 86 via the V-shaped cut 87, the cameraaccording to the invention can be easily assembled by accommodating thehousing 31 in the camera main body 1 after necessary members are mountedon the housing 31 and connecting the eject hook lever 301 mounted on thefirst housing member 31A with the cartridge cover 8 mounted on thecamera main body 1.

The eject hook lever 301 is adapted to eject the cartridge KT by causingthe bottom end of the cartridge KT completely loaded in the cartridgechamber 11 to project from the cartridge loading opening 43 as thecartridge cover 8 is opened. The eject hook lever 301 is S-shaped andformed with a hook 303 at its leading end. On the inner surface (sidesurface facing the cartridge loading opening 43) of the leading end ofthe hook 303, there is formed a contact portion 303a which comes intocontact with a lever portion 314 of an eject link lever 313 to bedescribed later. On the outer surface (side surface facing the uppersurface 11a of the cartridge chamber 11), there is formed a contactportion 303b which comes into contact with a contact piece 311 to bedescribed later.

Further, a guide pin 304 is so provided as to project toward the backsurface of the camera at the leading end of the eject hook lever 301.The guide pin 304 is loosely fitted in a guide groove 306 formed in aguide plate 305 mounted on the flat plate 41 of the first housing member31A. The guide groove 306 has an arch-like shape curved to the left whenviewed from the front surface of the camera. The hook 303 of the ejecthook lever 301 is guided by the guide groove 306 so as to come closer tothe eject link lever 313 as the cartridge cover 8 is opened and closed.

An eject lever 307 used to eject the cartridge KT is movably providedupward and downward in a position between the guide plate 305 and theflat plate 41 of the first housing member 31A and facing a left end ofthe guide plate 305 when viewed from the front surface of the camera.

The eject lever 307 is movable upward and downward between a positionwhere the cartridge KT can be completely loaded into the cartridgechamber 11 (position shown in FIG. 32; hereinafter, "load position") anda position where a part of the cartridge KT projects from the cartridgeloading opening 43 (a position lowered from the position of FIG. 32;hereinafter, "eject position").

The eject lever 307 has a rectangular shape. An eject claw 308 is soformed at the upper end of the eject lever 307 as to project into thecartridge chamber 11, and a pair of guide members 309, 309' are soformed as to project toward the cartridge chamber 11 at upper and lowerends of a left edge of the eject lever 307 when viewed from the front ofthe camera. Further, below the guide member 309 at the left edge of theeject lever 307, a projection 310 is so formed as to project toward theback surface. The guide members 309, 309' are fitted in an unillustratedguide groove extending in the vertical direction which is provided onthe flat plate 41 and are adapted to guide a vertical movement of theeject lever 307.

Further, the contact portion 311 and a projection 312 are so formed asto project toward the back surface at the substantially middle and upperend positions of a right edge of the eject lever 307 when viewed fromthe front of the camera. The eject link lever 313 is rotatably providedin a specified lower end position of the eject lever 307 facing theguide plate 305.

The contact portion 303b of the hook 303 comes into contact with thecontact portion 311 during the closing of the cartridge cover 8.Accordingly, while the cartridge cover 8 is closed, the contact portion311 acts to switch the position of the eject lever 307 from its ejectposition to its load position.

The eject link lever 313 is a member with which the contact portion 303aof the hook 303 comes into contact during the opening of the cartridgecover 8, and acts to switch the position of the eject lever 307 from itsload position to its eject position as the cartridge cover 8 is opened.The eject link lever 313 includes the lever portion 314 with which thecontact portion 303a comes into contact, and a hook portion 315. Atorsion coil spring 316 is mounted between the hook portion 315 and theprojection 310. The spring 316 renders the eject link lever 313 aclockwise rotational force when viewed from the front of the camera.

The projection 312 is a portion with which the lever portion 314 comesinto contact, thereby restricting the rotation of the eject link lever313 caused by the coil spring 316 to horizontally hold the lever portion314.

Further, a pin 317 is provided in a specified upper end position of thesurface of the eject lever 307 facing the guide plate 305. The oppositeends of a torsion coil spring 318 are rotatably mounted on the pin 317and a pin 319 provided in a specified position of the flat plate 41. Thecoil spring 318 applies a drive force to switch the position of theeject lever 307.

Next, the construction of the locking mechanism 400 for the cartridgecover 8 is described.

The locking mechanism 400 is provided with the unlock lever 401, a locklever 407, an unlocked state holding lever 416 and a torsion coil spring423.

The unlock lever 401 causes the lock lever 407 to unlock the cartridgecover 8. The unlock lever 401 is formed with a contact portion 404 in aspecified peripheral position of the front surface of a disk-shaped baseportion 402 and also with a lever portion 405 projecting downward in aspecified peripheral position of the rear surface of the base portion402 opposite from the position of the contact portion 404. The leverportion 405 is an L-shaped member which is bent outward substantially atright angles in its intermediate position. A front lever portion 405a inparallel with the base portion 402 is so curved as to face a contactportion 411 of the lock lever 407. A hole 403 is formed in the center ofthe base portion 402. The unlock lever 401 is rotatably supported on ahorizontal plane by fitting a shaft 406 (see FIG. 16) provided at thesupport plate 167 into the hole 403.

The lock lever 407 acts to lock and unlock the cartridge cover 8. Thelock lever 407 is a plate member formed with a hole 409 substantially inthe center of a lock lever main body 408. Further, the lock lever 407 isrotatably supported by fitting a shaft 410 projecting in a specifiedposition on the outer surface of the flat plate 42 of the first housingmember 31A into the hole 409.

The lock lever 407 is formed at its upper and lower ends with arectangular contact portion 411 and an engaging claw 412 formed bybending parts of the lock lever main body 408 toward the front surfaceof the camera, respectively. The engaging claw 412 is engaged with theengaging hole 84 of the engagement portion 83 provided at the cartridgecover 8 to lock the cartridge cover 8.

Further, an engagement portion 413 is formed by cutting away a part ofthe lever main body 408 in a specified position at the right edge (edgetoward the cartridge chamber 11) of the lock lever main body 408 abovethe engaging claw 412. The engagement portion 413 is engaged with alocking portion 422 of the unlocked state holding lever 416 to hold thelever 416 in position. The right edge of the lock lever main body 408extending between the engagement portion 413 and the engaging claw 412acts as a contact portion 414 which comes into contact with the lockingportion 422 of the lever 416.

Further, a locking portion 415 is formed by bending a part of the locklever main body 408 in a specified position of the left edge of the locklever main body 408 above the engaging claw 412. The locking portion 415supports one end of the torsion coil spring 423.

The unlocked state holding lever 416 acts to slightly open the cartridgecover 8 with respect to the cartridge chamber 11 during the unlocking ofthe cartridge cover 8 and to hold the lock lever 407 in its unlockposition. The lever 416 is also made of a plate member formed with apair of oblong holes 418, 418' extending along the length of the lever416 substantially in the middle of a lever main body 417. The lever 416is movably provided along the vertical direction at the bottom of theouter surface of the flat plate 42 of the first housing member 31A. Tothe oblong holes 418, 418' are loosely fitted a pair of guide pins 410,420' projecting in specified positions on the outer surface of the flatplate 42 so as to guide the vertical movement of the lever 416.

A contact portion 419 is formed by bending a part of the lever main body417 in a right bottom corner position of the lever main body 417, andthe locking portion 422 is also formed by bending a part of the levermain body 417 in a specified position at the left edge of the lever mainbody 417. The locking portion 422 acts to support the other end of thetorsion coil spring 423 and to hold the lock lever 407 in its unlockposition.

The opposite ends of the coil spring 423 are secured to the lockingportion 415 of the lock lever 407 and the locking portion 422 of theunlocked state holding lever 416, respectively. The spring force of thecoil spring 423 is translated into a counterclockwise (direction ofarrow A6 in FIG. 32) rotational force given to the lock lever 407 andinto a downward (direction of arrow A7 in FIG. 32) acting biasing forcegiven to the unlocked state holding lever 416.

Next, the operation of the ejecting mechanism 300 for the cartridge KTand of the locking mechanism 400 for the cartridge cover 8 is describedwith reference to FIGS. 34 to 42.

First, the operation of the ejecting mechanism 300 and of the lockingmechanism 400 during the loading of the cartridge KT is described.

FIGS. 34 to 39 are construction diagrams showing the operations of therespective elements of the ejecting mechanism 300 and of the lockingmechanism 400 during the loading of the cartridge KT when viewed fromthe front of the camera.

FIG. 34 shows the cartridge KT loaded into the cartridge chamber byaction of gravity; FIG. 35 shows the cartridge KT being pressed into thecartridge chamber 11; FIG. 36 shows the cartridge KT completely pressedinto the cartridge chamber 11; FIG. 37 shows the cartridge cover 8 beingclosed; FIG. 38 shows the cartridge cover 8 immediately before beinglocked; and FIG. 39 shows the cartridge cover 8 after being locked.

It should be noted that the camera main body 1 in FIGS. 34 to 39 areturned upside down since the cartridge KT is normally loaded into orejected from the cartridge chamber 11 with the cartridge cover 8 openedupward. In the description below, an upward movement in FIGS. 34 to 39is referred to as an upward movement and a rotational movement to theright is referred to as a clockwise rotation in order to simplify thedescription in connection with the drawings.

While the cartridge KT is not loaded, the eject lever 307 is located inits eject position at an upper limit of its movable range and the locklever 407 is located in its unlock position (see the state of FIG. 34).

If S2 denotes a horizontal line segment passing through the pin 319supporting the one end of the torsion coil spring 318, the pin 317supporting the other end of the spring 318 is located above the linesegment S2. Since the force of the spring 318 acts in a directionobliquely upward to the right (direction of arrow F2 in FIG. 34) withrespect to the pin 319, the eject lever 307 is held in its ejectposition by this spring force.

Further, since the force of the coil spring 423 acts on the lockingportion 415 of the lock lever 407 in a direction obliquely upward to theleft (direction of arrow F3 in FIG. 34), the lock lever 407 rotatescounterclockwise about the shaft 410. However, the rotation of the locklever 407 is restricted by the contact of the contact portion 414 of thelock lever 407 with the locking portion 422 of the unlocked stateholding lever 416 and, therefore, the lock lever 407 is held in thisrotation restricting position (position shown in FIG. 34; hereinafter,"unlock position").

Further, since the force of the coil spring 423 acts on the unlockedstate holding lever 416 in a direction obliquely upward to the right(direction of arrow F4 in FIG. 34), the lever 416 moves upward. However,the upward movement of the lever 416 is restricted by the guide pins420, 420' coming into contact with the oblong holes 418, 418'. As aresult, the lever 416 is held in this upward movement restrictingposition (position shown in FIG. 34; hereinafter, "unlocked stateholding position").

The cartridge KT is loaded into the cartridge chamber 11 by pressingdown the bottom surface 512 of the cartridge KT projecting from thecartridge loading opening 43 by finger after inserting the cartridge KTinto the cartridge chamber 11 by action of gravity.

When being loaded into the cartridge chamber 11, the cartridge KT movesdownward by action of gravity until the upper surface 510 thereof comesinto contact with the eject claw 308 of the eject lever 307. Since theeject lever 307 is held in its eject position by the torsion coil spring318, the cartridge KT is not completely loaded into the cartridgechamber 11. A part of the cartridge KT projects from the cartridgeloading opening 43 by a specified distance (see FIG. 34).

Thereafter, when the cartridge KT is pressed down against the springforce of the coil spring 318 to a position where the pin 319 of theeject lever 307 is located slightly below the line segment S2 (see FIG.35), the direction of the spring force of the coil spring 318 acting onthe pin 319 is inverted into a direction obliquely downward to theright. As a result, the eject lever 307 is automatically lowered to itsload position by the spring force of the coil spring 318, therebycompleting the loading of the cartridge KT into the cartridge chamber 11(state of FIG. 36).

Subsequently, as the cartridge cover 8 is rotated clockwise to close thecartridge loading opening 43, the hook 303 of the eject hook lever 301moves downward along the guide groove 306. When the cartridge cover 8 isrotated by a specified angle, the contact portion 303b of the hook 303comes into contact with the lever portion 314 of the eject link lever313 (see FIG. 37). When the cartridge cover 8 is rotated against thespring force of the coil spring 316 until the leading end of theengaging hole 84 comes into contact with the contact portion 419 of theunlocked state holding lever 416, the lever 313 rotatescounterclockwise, thereby moving the lever portion 314 away from themoving path of the hook 303. As a result, the hook 303 is allowed tomove between the lever portion 314 and the projection 311 (see FIG. 38).

When the cartridge cover 8 is rotated against the spring force of thetorsion coil spring 423 acting on the unlocked state holding lever 416until it becomes in flush with the bottom surface of the camera mainbody 1, the lever 416 moves downward by being pressed by the engagementportion 83 of the cartridge cover 8. This downward movement of the lever416 brings the contact portion 414 out of contact with the lockingportion 422, and the lock lever 407 is rotated counterclockwise by thespring force of the coil spring 423. The engaging claw 412 fits into theengaging hole 84 of the downward moving engagement portion 83 toautomatically lock the cartridge cover 8.

Further, the locking portion 422 of the unlocked state holding lever 416having moved downward by being pressed by the engagement portion 83engages the engagement portion 413 of the lock lever 407, with theresult that the upward movement of the lever 416 is restricted to holdthe cartridge cover 8 in its lock position (see FIG. 39).

Although the above description concerns the case where the cartridge KTis loaded by being lowered from the eject position to the load position,the cartridge KT may be loaded into the cartridge chamber 11 by closingthe cartridge cover 8 after being fitted into the cartridge chamber 11by action of gravity.

More specifically, when the hook 303 of the eject hook lever 301 islowered as the cartridge cover 8 is closed, the contact portion 303b ofthe hook 303 comes into contact wit h the projection 311 of the ejectlever 307, thereby lowering the eject lever 307 to the load position bybeing pressed by the hook 303. In this way, the cartridge KT is loadedinto the cartridge chamber 11.

Next, the operation of the ejecting mechanism 300 and the lockingmechanism 400 is described during the ejection of the cartridge KT.

FIGS. 40 to 42 are diagrams showing the operation of the respectiveelements of the ejecting mechanism 300 and the locking mechanism 400during the ejection of the cartridge KT when viewed from the front ofthe camera.

FIG. 40 shows a state immediately after the cartridge cover 8 isunlocked; FIG. 41 shows a state immediately before the cartridge KT isejected; and FIG. 42 shows a stat e after the cartridge KT is ejected.It should be appreciated that the camera main body 1 is turned upsidedown in FIGS. 40 to 42 as well.

The cartridge KT is ejected by unlocking the cartridge cover 8 by thetorque of the drive motor M as described above.

Specifically, when the crank lever 149 is moved by rotating the crankplate 146 by the torque of the drive motor M, the contact portion 150 ofthe crank lever 149 comes into contact with the contact portion 404 ofthe unlock lever 401 to rotate the unlock lever 401. Thereby, the leverportion 405 comes into contact with the contact portion 411 of the locklever 407, rotating the lock lever 407 clockwise against the springforce of the coil spring 423.

The rotation of the lock lever 407 disengages the engaging claw 412 fromthe engaging hole 84 of the cartridge cover 8 and also disengages thelocking portion 422 from the engagement portion 413, with the resultthat the unlocked state holding lever 416 moves upward by the springforce of the coil spring 423. The upward movement of the lever 416causes the contact portion 419 to come into contact with the engagementportion 83 of the cartridge cover 8, thereby pushing up the leading endof the cartridge cover 8 to open the cartridge cover 8 (see FIG. 40).

When the leading end of the cartridge cover 8 is pushed up by finger inthis state, the cartridge cover 8 rotates counterclockwise to open thecartridge loading opening 43. At this time, the hook 303 of the ejecthook lever 301 moves upward along the guide groove 306 as the cartridgecover 8 rotates. When the cartridge cover 8 rotates by a specifiedamount, the hook 303 engages the lever portion 314 of the eject linklever 313.

Since the clockwise rotation of the lever portion 314 is restricted bythe projection 312 of the eject lever 307, the upward movement of thehook 303 causes the eject lever 307 to move upward against the springforce of the coil spring 318. When the pin 319 of the eject lever 307 ispressed down to a position slightly above the line segment S2 (see FIG.41), the direction of the spring force of the coil spring 318 acting onthe pin 319 is inverted to a direction obliquely upward to the right,and the eject lever 307 is automatically moved upward to the ejectposition by the spring force of the coil spring 318. In this way, theejection of the cartridge KT is completed (see FIG. 42).

Thereafter, the cartridge KT is taken out of the cartridge chamber 11 byfully opening the cartridge cover 8 and by being withdrawn through thecartridge loading opening 43 as indicated by phantom line in FIG. 42.

As described above, the eject lever 307 having the engaging claw 308coming into contact with the inner surface of the cartridge chamber 11to eject the cartridge KT is movably provided between the eject positionand the load position. The eject lever 307 is held in the eject positionor the load position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 318whose biasing direction is inverted in an intermediate position of themovable range of the eject lever 307. The eject link lever 313retractably projects from the eject lever 307, and the guide plate 305formed with the substantially arch-shaped guide groove 306 is soprovided as to be movable closer to and away from the eject link lever313. There is also provided the eject hook lever 301 which has its baseend rotatably supported on the cartridge cover 8 and also has, at itsleading end, the hook 303 slidably fittable in the guide groove 306. Asthe cartridge cover 8 is opened, the hook 303 of the eject hook lever301 moving toward the cartridge loading opening 43 comes into contactwith the eject link lever 313, thereby moving the eject lever 307a tothe position where the biasing direction of the coil spring 318 isinverted. Thereafter, the eject lever 307 is moved to the eject positionby the inverted spring force of the coil spring 318. Accordingly, thecartridge KT can be securely and stably ejected from the cartridgechamber 11 as the cartridge cover 8 is opened.

Further, since the hook 303 of the eject hook lever 301 moving as thecartridge cover 8 is opened moves along a substantially arcuate path andcomes into contact with the eject link lever 313 of the eject lever 307in an intermediate position of the opening/closing range of thecartridge cover 8, even if the eject lever 307 is moved after thecartridge KT is inserted into the cartridge chamber 11 during theloading of the cartridge KT, the cartridge cover 8 is not closed.Accordingly, an operator does not encounter an accident of, e.g.pinching his finger while loading the cartridge KT. Therefore, thecartridge can be easily and safely loaded.

Further, when the hook 303 moves toward the bottom side of the cartridgechamber 11, the eject link lever 313 is retractable from the moving pathof the hook 303. The hook 303 rapidly passes the eject link lever 313 inthe very neighborhood thereof. Accordingly, the eject link lever 313 cansecurely be returned to its projecting position by a maximally shortstroke of the eject hook lever 301.

In the locking mechanism 400, the engaging claw 412 is linearly movedsubstantially in the horizontal direction (widthwise direction of thecamera main body 1) to be engaged with the engaging hole 84 of thecartridge cover 8 by rotating the lock lever 407 on the vertical plane.However, the engaging claw 412 may be engaged with the engaging hole 84of the cartridge cover 8 by being rotated about a rotatable shaft whichis so provided as to extend in the vertical direction (height directionof the camera main body 1).

FIG. 43 is a perspective view showing an essential portion of a secondembodiment of the locking mechanism.

The locking mechanism shown in FIG. 43 is provided with an unlock lever430, a lock lever 436, an unlocked state holding lever 449, a torsioncoil spring 448 and a tension coil spring 456.

The unlock lever 430 is a strip-shaped plate member and is formed with asupport portion 432 at the base end of an unlock lever main body 431, acontact portion 433 projecting upward in a specified position of thebase end thereof, the contact portion 150 of the crank lever 149 cominginto contact with the contact portion 433, and an engaging portion 434at the leading end thereof. The engaging portion 434 is formed bybending the leading end of the unlock lever main body 431. The supportportion 432 is formed with a hole 435, and the unlock lever 430 isrotatably supported by fitting the shaft 406 on the unillustratedsupport plate into the hole 435.

The lock lever 436 is also a strip-shaped plate member and is formedwith a support portion 438, an engagement portion 439, and a lockingportion 440 at the upper end of a lock lever main body 437 and with asupport portion 442 and an engaging claw 443 at the lower end thereof.The support portions 438, 442 are formed by bending their opposite endsat right angles in the same direction, and holes 441, 444 are formed inthe vicinity of their bent portions, respectively. The engagementportion 439 is a projection projecting in a direction opposite from thesupport portion 438 in a specified upper position of one side edge ofthe lock lever main body 437. The engaging portion 434 of the unlocklever 430 is engaged with the engagement portion 439. The lockingportion 440 is a projection projecting in a direction parallel with theengagement portion 439 below the engagement portion 439. One end of thetorsion coil spring 448 is secured to the locking portion 440. The otherend of the coil spring 448 is secured to the unillustrated housing.

The engaging claw 443 has a hooked shape obtained by forming a recess445 in one side end of the support portion 442, and is fittable into theengaging hole 84 of the cartridge cover 8 to lock the cartridge cover 8.

The lock lever 436 is rotatably supported by fitting a pair ofvertically extending shafts 446, 447 provided on the housing into theholes 441, 444, respectively. The torsion coil spring 448 renders thelock lever main body 437 a clockwise (direction of arrow A8 in FIG. 43)rotational force when viewed from above the camera. This causes the locklever main body 437 to rotate in such a direction that the engaging claw443 locks the cartridge cover 8. On the other hand, when the engagingclaw 443 rotates to a position where it is fitted into the engaging hole84 of the cartridge cover 8 (hereinafter, "lock position"), the engagingportion 434 of the unlock lever 430 engages the engagement portion 439,thereby restricting the rotation of the lock lever 436. As a result, thelock lever 436 is held in the lock position.

The unlocked state holding lever 449 is a strip-like plate member and isformed in a specified upper position of one side of a holding lever mainbody 450 with a support portion 451 for supporting one end of thetension coil spring 456; and in an intermediate position thereof with asupport projection 452 for supporting the other end of the spring 456, ahole 453 being formed in the support projection 452. The supportprojection 452 is provided at the unillustrated housing, and the holdinglever main body 450 is biased downward by the contractive force of thetension coil spring 456 mounted between the support portion 451 and thesupport projection 452.

At the bottom end of the holding lever main body 450, there is provideda projection 454 having an L-shaped leading end for holding thecartridge cover 8 unlocked. Above the projection 454, there is provideda contact piece 455 which is formed by bending a projection projectingfrom one side edge of the lever main body 450 and comes into contactwith the engagement portion 83 of the cartridge cover 8. When the locklever main body 437 rotates counterclockwise (direction opposite fromthe direction of arrow A8 in FIG. 43), the projection 437 fits into therecess 445 of the support portion 442 to hold the lock lever main body437 in a position where the engaging claw 443 is not engaged with theengaging hole 84 of the cartridge cover 8 (hereinafter, "unlockposition"). Further, during the unlocking of the cartridge cover 8, thecontact piece 455 comes into contact with the engagement portion 83 ofthe cartridge cover 8 to pressingly open the cartridge cover 8.

FIGS. 44A to 44C are diagrams showing the operation of the lockingmechanism according to the second embodiment, wherein FIG. 44A shows thelocked state, FIG. 44B shows the state upon the completion of theunlocking operation, and FIG. 44C shows a state where the unlocked stateis held. In FIGS. 44A to 44C, the upper sides show the rotation of theunlock lever 449, whereas the lower sides the rotation of the clawingclaw 443.

As the crank lever 149 is moved forward while the cartridge cover 8 islocked (state of FIG. 44A) to rotate the unlock lever 430counterclockwise when viewed from above the camera, the lock lever 436rotates counterclockwise, thereby disengaging the engaging claw 443 fromthe engaging hole 84 of the cartridge cover 8 to unlock the cartridgecover 8 (state of FIG. 44B). When the lock lever 436 rotates to theunlock position, the unlocked state holding lever 449 is lowered by thetension coil spring 456, with the result that the cartridge cover 8rotates to open by being pressed by the contact piece 455 having comeinto contact with the leading end of the engagement portion 83, and thatthe projection 454 fits into the recess 445 of the support portion 442to hold the unlocked state (state of FIG. 44C).

On the other hand, when the cartridge cover 8 is pressed toward thecartridge chamber 11 against the spring force of the tension coil spring456 with the leading end of the engagement portion 83 in contact withthe contact piece 455 of the unlocked state holding lever 449 in orderto close the cartridge cover 8 in its unlocked position (state of FIG.44C), the lever 449 moves upward to release the restriction of thecounterclockwise rotation of the lock lever main body 437 by theprojection 454. Accordingly, the engaging claw 443 fits into theengaging hole 84 of the engagement portion 83 to lock the cartridgecover 8 (state of FIG. 44A).

The lock lever main body 437 is held in the lock position by theclockwise biasing force by the torsion coil spring 448 and by therestriction of the rotation by the unlock lever 430, thereby holding thecartridge cover 8 locked.

The first embodiment of the locking mechanism has a disadvantage ofrequiring a width sufficient to ensure the movable range of the engagingclaw 443 since the engaging claw 443 is linearly moved, but has anadvantage of a reduced thickness. Thus, as shown in the firstembodiment, the locking mechanism 400 can be arranged in such a narrowspace as a clearance between the battery chamber 12 and the drive motorM.

On the other hand, the second embodiment of the locking mechanism has adisadvantage of requiring a thickness sufficient to ensure a rotatablerange of the engaging claw 443 since the engaging claw 443 is rotated,but has an advantage of a reduced width and a compact size. Thus, asshown in the second embodiment, the locking mechanism 400 can bearranged taking advantage of a space at the corner of the side surfacesof the camera main body 1.

As described above, the film feeding device for the film cartridgeself-loading type camera transmits the torque of one electric motor tothe fork provided at the cartridge chamber and to the take-up spoolprovided at the film take-up chamber to feed the film in a desiredmanner in accordance with the drive modes such as the film winding mode,the film rewinding mode and the film loading mode. This film feedingdevice is provided with the first gear device for transmitting thetorque of the electric motor to the fork in the film rewinding mode, thesecond gear device for transmitting the torque of the electric motor tothe take-up spool in the film winding mode and the film loading mode,the third gear device for transmitting the torque of the electric motorto the fork in the film loading mode, and the torque transmissionmechanism including the cam for controlling switching the engagement ofthe respective planetary gear wheels of the first to third gear devicesin the respective drive modes and the transmission gear wheel fortransmitting the torque of the electric motor to the cam. The filmfeeding device thus constructed is arranged outside the bottom wall ofthe film loading chamber. Accordingly, the film feeding mechanism of thefilm cartridge self-loading type camera can be made small and compact.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to beunderstood that various changes and modifications will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes andmodifications depart from the scope of the present invention, theyshould be construed as being included therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A camera comprising:a cartridge chamber whichaccommodates a film cartridge containing a film; a cover which openablycloses the cartridge chamber; a locking mechanism which locks the coverin a closing state of closing the cover, the locking mechanismincluding:a pivotal member pivotable about a specified axis, and havingon one end a locking portion engageable with the cover to lock the coverin the closing state and on the other end a contact portion; and abiasing member which urges the pivotal member in a locking directionthat the locking portion engages with the cover; a releasing devicewhich releases the locking of the cover in the closing state, thereleasing device including:a motor which generates a driving force; acrank member driven by the motor; an unlocking member which is operableto come into contact with the contact portion of the pivotal member torotate the pivotal member in a direction opposite to the lockingdirection; and a link member which operatively connects the crank memberwith the unlocking member.
 2. A camera as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising:a fork provided in the cartridge chamber and engageable witha spool provided in the film cartridge; a film take-up chamber providedwith a take-up spool for taking up the film; a transmission mechanismwhich transmits the driving force from the motor to the crank member,the take-up spool, and the fork, the transmission mechanism having afirst transmission route of transmitting the driving force to the crankmember to actuate the unlocking member, a second transmission route oftransmitting the driving force to the take-up spool to wind the film,and a third transmission route of transmitting the driving force to thefork to rewind the film; and a changer which changes over the first,second, and third transmission routes.
 3. A camera as defined in claim2, wherein the transmission mechanism further has a fourth transmissionroute of transmitting the driving force to the take-up spool and thefork to load the film.
 4. A camera mountable with a film cartridgecontaining a film and having a light blocking lid rotatable about avertical axis to open and close the film cartridge, comprising:acartridge chamber which accommodates the film cartridge; an engagingmember which is rotatably provided in the cartridge chamber andengageable with the light blocking lid when the film cartridge is placedin the cartridge chamber; a cover which openably closes the cartridgechamber; a pivotal member pivotable about a specified axis, and havingon one end a locking portion engageable with the cover to lock the coverin the closing state and on the other end a contact portion; a biasingmember which urges the pivotal member in a locking direction that thelocking portion engages with the cover; a motor which generates adriving force; a crank member driven by the motor; an unlocking memberwhich is operable to come into contact with the contact portion of thepivotal member to rotate the pivotal member in a direction opposite tothe locking direction; and a link member which operatively connects thecrank member with the engaging member and the unlocking member.
 5. Amethod for locking and unlocking a cover of a cartridge chamber foraccommodating a film cartridge, the method comprising the stepsof:permitting a pivotal member to engage with the cover to lock thecover in a closing position when a film cartridge is placed in thecartridge chamber; keeping the pivotal member to engage with the coverby a biasing member; driving a motor to generate a driving force whenthe locking of the cover is required to be released; and transmittingthe driving force to an unlocking member operable to come into contactwith the pivotal member by a way of a crank member and a link memberoperatively connecting the crank member with the unlocking member.
 6. Acamera comprising:a cartridge chamber which accommodates a filmcartridge containing a film; a cover which openably closes the cartridgechamber; a locking member which locks the cover in a closing state ofclosing the cartridge chamber; and a releasing device which releases thelocking of the cover in the closing state, the releasing deviceincluding:a motor which generates a driving force; a crank member drivenby the motor; an unlocking member which comes into contact with thelocking member; and a link member which operatively connects the crankmember with the unlocking member.
 7. A camera as defined in claim6,wherein the locking member includes: a pivotal member pivotable abouta specified axis, and having on one end a locking portion engageablewith the cover to lock the cover in the closing state and one the otherend a contact portion; a biasing member which urges the pivotal memberin a locking direction that the locking portion engages with the cover;and the unlocking member comes into contact with the contact portion ofthe pivotal member to rotate the pivotal member in a direction oppositeto the locking direction.
 8. A camera as defined in claim 6, furthercomprising:a fork provided in the cartridge chamber and engageable witha spool provided in the film cartridge; a film take-up chamber providedwith a take-up spool for taking up the film; a transmission mechanismwhich transmits the driving force from the motor to the crank member,the take-up spool, and the fork, the transmission mechanism having afirst transmission route of transmitting the driving force to the crankmember to actuate the unlocking member, a second transmission route oftransmitting the driving force to the take-up spool to wind the film,and a third transmission route of transmitting the driving force to thefork to rewind the film; and a changer which changes over the first,second, and third transmission routes.
 9. A camera as defined in claim8,wherein the transmission mechanism further has a fourth transmissionroute of transmitting the driving force to the take-up spool and thefork to load the film.
 10. A camera mountable with a film cartridgecontaining a film and having a light blocking lid rotatable about avertical axis to open and close the film cartridge, comprising:acartridge chamber which accommodates a film cartridge containing a film;an engaging member which is rotatably provided in the cartridge chamberand engageable with the light blocking lid when the film cartridge isplaced in the cartridge chamber; a cover which openably closes thecartridge chamber; a locking member which locks the cover in a closingstate of closing the cartridge chamber; a releasing device whichreleases the locking of the cover in the closing state, the releasingdevice including:a motor which generates a driving force; a crank memberdriven by the motor; an unlocking member which comes into contact withthe locking member; and a link member which operatively connects thecrank member with the unlocking member.
 11. A camera as defined in claim10,wherein the locking member includes:a pivotal member pivotable abouta specified axis, and having on one end a locking portion engageablewith the cover to lock the cover in the closing state and one the otherend a contact portion; and a biasing member which urges the pivotalmember in a locking direction that the locking portion engages with thecover; and the unlocking member comes into contact with the contactportion of the pivotal member to rotate the pivotal member in adirection opposite to the locking direction.
 12. A camera as defined inclaim 10,wherein the link member includes,a lever having a first endconnected with the crank member and a second end connected with theengaging member, the lever being reciprocally movable in a firstdirection of releasing the locking of the cover in the closing state andclosing the light blocking lid and a second direction of locking thecover in the closing state and opening the light blocking lid.
 13. Amethod for locking and unlocking a cover of a cartridge chamber foraccommodating a film cartridge, the method comprising the stepsof:permitting a locking member to engage with the cover to lock thecover in a closing position when a film cartridge is placed in thecartridge chamber; driving a motor to generate a driving force when thelocking of the cover is required to be released; and transmitting thedriving force to a unlocking member operable to come into contact withthe locking member by a way of a crank member and a link memberoperatively connecting the crank member with the unlocking member.